Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has addressed the lack of minutes for captain Alvaro Morata in recent games, with the veteran forward seemingly falling down the pecking order. The 32-year-old was a key player in their Euro 2024 triumph, but de la Fuente has opted for other options of late.

After a comfortable 3-0 win over Bulgaria in their opening World Cup qualifier, Spain arrived in Turkiye on Friday, and will be hoping to come out of their two away days with six points. The home side have moved the game to Konya, hoping for a febrile atmosphere than in Istanbul to aid their cause.

“We expect a fitting atmosphere,” de la Fuente told Diario AS ahead of the clash.

“A country fully committed to its national team. Rodrigo put it very well. We’re coming off a European Championship against the host country, Germany, in very hostile environments of this calibre. We’re ready.”

Luis de la Fuente responds to Alvaro Morata’s lack of minutes

One of the big questions marks regarding this Spain side is the number nine position. Mikel Oyarzabal played through the middle against Bulgaria to great effect. Ferran Torres is another option, and de la Fuente revealed to the same outlet his preference for leaving the call to the last minute, allowing him to assess their training sessions. De la Fuente revealed he had not had a conversation with Morata about his role, having played just nine minutes in their last four games.

“I haven’t given him any explanation. He knows his role. He’s the same as any player in the squad and will get more minutes depending on the game plan and how we want to play. He’s very important for us. It’s true that he has a different connotation, but he’s our captain. He should have all the honours of a country. I feel excited and proud to have players like him on the national team.”

Mikel Oyarzabal and Ferran Torres alternatives

One of the surprises over the last year has been de la Fuente’s strong faith in Oyarzabal. The Basque forward, who scored the winner in Euro 2024’s final, has struggled for goals for Real Sociedad.

“I do value him. He’s celebrated his 400th appearance for Real Sociedad this week. How could we not recognise that? He’s very capable. We have a lot of potential to play as a number 9 and a lot of qualities. Ferran, Olmo, Morata… We have players of fantastic quality.”

On the other hand, on a per minutes ratio, Torres has a goals record for La Roja that compares to the likes of David Villa.

“The decision has to be made at the last minute. We have to see how the training and how we feel. Fatigue, knocks… We’ll assess. Ferran is training very well and is a sure bet. He has complete and absolute confidence.”

De la Fuente would go on to say that he was very happy with defender Robin Le Normand after he was withdrawn against Bulgaria at half-time, and that Rodri Hernandez was amongst his options to the start the game, which would be his first for Spain almost a year to the day in 2024 (8th of September).