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Journalism of Courage
TEGELEN (Netherlands), JUNE 8: Coach Jose Antonio Camacho admitted that Spain’s attack had not been sharp enough in an unconvincing 1-0 win over Luxembourg.
“The problem was that we lacked something in front of goal. But I’m still not worried. The worrying thing would be if we weren’t creating chances.”
Spain’s tournament prospects were difficult to judge as Camacho left six of his senior players behind at the squad’s training camp in Tegelen, including leading striker Raul Gonzalez and playmaker Pep Guardiola.
All six who did not feature against Luxembourg are likely to start Spain’s opening Group C game against Norway in Rotterdam on June 13. Spain also play Slovenia and Yugoslavia in a group that are overwhelming favourites to win.
One of the few players to impress against Luxembourg was Mendieta, the Valencia skipper who has probably done enough to win himself a place against the Norwegians.
Mendieta had a disappointing game against Real Madrid in the champions league final but he appears to be rediscovering the form that made him one of the players of the season in Spain, where he scored 18 goals from the midfield.
“I was very confident of scoring out there,” said Mendieta after the game in Luxembourg.
“When you feel that confidence you have to take responsibility and that’s why I went for goal with the free kick.
“We created a lot of chances against Luxembourg and that’s important at this stage.
“It’s also a good result for us as perhaps people will now see that there are no easy rivals at this level.”
