Following Spain’s 1-0 victory against Albania, David Raya sidestepped questions on a possible quarterfinal matchup between himself and Arsenal teammate Kai Havertz, stating that the last 16 matches should take precedence for the time being.
With a perfect record in the group stage, Spain eliminated Croatia, the reigning champions Italy and Albania, and advanced to the round of sixteen without giving up a goal.
Prior to the European Championships, Luis de la Fuente’s team was mostly seen as an outsider, but together with Germany, they have swiftly become one of the most formidable squads in the competition.
Even though the last 16 picture is still far from definitive, Spain knows that they will play a matchup with the third-placed team from Group D, E, or F before playing Havertz and the event hosts in the quarterfinals.
When asked whether supporters and commentators were starting to choose Spain as the winner, Raya said, “We don’t want to think about that,” to Hayters. Our attention must be on the group rather than the outside world.
We must be self-centered. We have an amazing team that works together like a huge family: the staff.
We don’t want to pay attention to external factors like what other people say, think, or do. We must keep our attention in the here and now, concentrating on our training, recuperation, and other needs.
After a poor season at the club level with Arsenal, Raya might have been understood for wanting a vacation. However, the goalkeeper said that it was “fantastic” to be given the chance to play for Spain this summer.
No, it’s a wonderful place to return to. Representing your nation is an incredible experience, particularly on one of the largest platforms globally, he remarked.
It’s a dream come true to be able to come here and represent your nation.
“We are focused on the national team and trying to help the team as much as possible. We know that the season with Arsenal wasn’t what we wanted.”
Raya said, “I spoke with few of them, obviously, congratulating people,” when asked if he had spoken to any of his Arsenal teammates during the Euros.
“Yes, we keep in touch because we have a really good group over there,” said the person I saw the other day, Jorginho.
He continued, saying, “I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I’m looking forward to the next game,” in reference to the possibility of facing Havertz again in the quarterfinals.
The most important thing right now is to celebrate the victory tonight and return to our training tomorrow because we have no idea what will happen in the quarterfinals.
“We just focus on the present because training and recovery are really, really important.”