Luis de la Fuente slams Uruguay's 'extreme roughness' and VAR decisions as Spain boss hopes for 'normal matches' in World Cup knockout rounds

Speaking after the match, De la Fuente praised his players' resilience while expressing frustration with both the officiating and the role of VAR. Although Spain progressed as group winners, he believed the officials should have done more to manage the physical nature of the contest.

"I still admire Marcelo Bielsa, matches are played by the footballers," De la Fuente said. "It was going to be a very demanding match, and we have to accept the circumstances. It's not the most comfortable type of match, but that's what referees are for. They pushed us to the limit, played extremely rough, and we rose to the occasion.

"Every match is different. We certainly have other strengths and we admire other styles of play, but you have to win all kinds of matches. Without playing brilliantly, we rose to the occasion. It was extremely demanding, and we maintained a high level of concentration, avoiding falling for many provocations.

"Every day my players want to improve. In a match that was the complete opposite of the style of football we understand, they rose to the occasion. Refereeing is very difficult. I understand that there are tools, like VAR, that should help. I hope to play normal matches from now on. I don't want to get into trouble and say anything about the referees."

The physical encounter could have lasting consequences for Spain. Nico Williams finished the match with physical discomfort, while Yeremy Pino suffered a blow to his collarbone that could threaten the rest of his tournament. Despite those concerns, De la Fuente remained pleased with his team's overall progress, although he admitted Spain fell short of their usual standards in possession.

"I'm very demanding of myself," he admitted. "We want to be better than we are now, but we've already played very well. We played fantastically for half an hour against Saudi Arabia. Today it was difficult to string together passes. That's what we need to work on, moving the ball more quickly, with our usual pace."

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