Midfielder aiming for three wins out of three against Le Bleus in hunt for ‘the highest thing you can aspire to’
Rodri is confident that an in-form France will come to the end of the road when they face Spain in their World Cup semi-final tie on Tuesday.
France is reckoned the strongest team in the tournament but Rodri believes his side’s recent record against them has brought confidence of victory. Spain have defeated France in two semi-finals over the last two years: in the Euro 2024 and also in last summer’s Nations League.
“France are one of the best teams here, in great form, but so are Spain,” Rodri said. “We can beat them, we’ve seen that at the Euros and in the Nations League.”
Although the Manchester City midfielder expects a different contest from the nine-goal thriller between the sides in the Nations League last year, when Spain edged a dramatic 5-4 victory. “World Cup matches are a different beast,” said Rodri. “I don’t think it will be anywhere near as open.”
This Spain side have shown much of the characteristics of their predecessors 15 years ago, who won the 2010 World Cup two years after winning Euro 2008. Rodri, having won everything in club football and garlanded it with the highest individual prize in the game – the Ballon d’Or – is now ready to win “the highest thing you can aspire to” with his national team.
For Spain it has “only been done once in history”, said Rodri, referring of course to that Spain team, who had a golden generation with Xavi and Iniesta in their midfield.
The current team have Rodri and Pedri, who are two of the best of this generation, in midfield, but their most notable player, the star of the team, is Lamine Yamal, who only turned 19 this week.
The Barcelona winger has had a relatively muted tournament in his first appearance on the global stage, which will undoubtedly be frustrating for a player of his talent and passion, but Rodri had some sage words of advice.
“I think he needs to calm down a bit that anxiety that sometimes he has to prove himself,” Rodri said. “He’s a very important player for us because of what he does with and without the ball, and he’s a very intelligent guy. It’s true that he’s 19 years old and that we have to calm him down at certain moments of the game.”
But he believes Yamal has a quality that makes helping him easy enough: “He’s a boy who listens, who always wants to learn,” Rodri said.
France have arguably been the best attacking side in the tournament, whereas, in contrast, Spain have had difficulty breaking teams down and scoring goals. That is largely because teams have tended to set up in a low block against them due to their abilities in possession. Could that change against France maybe, who would surely be more positive on the ball?
Not according to Rodri, who fully expects them to be hard work to break down.
“France have great attacking qualities but I’d also highlight their defensive strength,” Rodri said. “They defend well in a low block. They’re very physical, very aggressive. We’ll have to take the game to where we want it.”
