Fernando Hierro has warned Russia that Spain ‘will leave their lives on the pitch’ during Sunday’s World Cup last-16 tie.
Hierro’s Spain struggled to sparkle in their three group games, despite finishing top of their pool to set up a knockout clash with Russia, and the former Real Madrid defender assured his side had ‘a lot of confidence’ in their ability to overcome the hosts.
“We know what we have to work on,” he said at a Press conference.
“Football is a game of errors, and the team who make the least errors win, so we have to minimise the number we make of them.
“We’re clear about our plan, we know what we want and how Russia play, and we have a lot of confidence in our team. I see the team in good physical and mental condition. We’re feeling positive.
“We had to come back from behind five times in the group stage, but that also weighs on your opponents and we also did some good things.
"The team have got stuck in and are focused, and our 11 players will leave their lives on the pitch.
“Russia are a difficult team to face, with a lot of height, and they‘re good at set-pieces. We must know how to hurt them.
“Our friendly last November? They played with high pressure on that occasion, although they’re not doing it at this World Cup. Still, we must be attentive to that and a possible change of system.
“You can have a plan and watch videos all night, yet then three players come out, who you didn’t expect.
“We’re able to adapt, we’ve studied all their possible variations. Never beaten tournament hosts? Statistics are there to be broken. There’s no need to look back.”
