Santi Denia spoke of his admiration for the quality of the Spain squad.

The Czechia head coach used to work in the youth ranks for La Roja to help oversee the development of some of the brightest talents in his home country.

He will now cross paths with a crop of those players when his side face the World Cup champions in a Nations League fixture on Saturday.

Praise for Lamine Yamal

Although there was particular praise from Denia for Ballon d’Or candidate Lamine Yamal, he highlighted many other individuals whom he is proud to have helped reach great heights.

“[Lamine Yamal] receives the ball, drives forward, takes players on in one-on-ones, provides fluidity—he is different. In my view, he is a genuine gamechanger.

“I met him when he was 14. He made his debut with the Under-15s, then I called him up to the Under-19s, and after I did not see much of him as he stepped straight up to the senior team while I was with the Under-21s. We did not cross paths at the Olympics. But everything I hear about him is spectacular.

“We all witnessed Lionel Messi, though I do not want to compare him to Messi, as Messi spent 20 years doing as he pleased with the ball and with football, but Lamine is playing at an extraordinary level.

How Czechia plan to stop him

“[We deal with Lamine] by doubling up, because he is an unbalancing player with exceptional 1-on-1 ability. If you rely solely on individual marking, stopping him becomes exceedingly difficult. So, we will work collectively, provide cover, and also aim to keep possession to defend with the ball.

‘I have crossed paths with almost all of them’

“I have crossed paths with almost all of them. Eric García, for whom I hold great affection after the years we spent together, will not be available. But there are Álex Baena, Marc Pubill, Rodri... Phew! Olmo, I remember Dani Olmo so fondly; Mikel Oyarzabal, goodness me; Ferran Torres, we shared a tremendous amount too...”