INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Coach Luis de la Fuente said he "loves" Lamine Yamal's "optimism and confidence" after the star boasted that Spain would be "almost unstoppable" when they hit top World Cup form.
Spain play Austria at SoFi Stadium on Thursday in the round of 32, having topped their group but failed to perform at their best so far, unlike other leading candidates like France.
In a radio interview this week, Yamal -- who's now recovered from a pre-tournament injury -- said that "once we hit our stride ... we'll be almost unstoppable" and claimed Spain are "the only national team expected to play really well" despite underwhelming in a 0-0 with Cape Verde, and then beating Saudi Arabia 4-0 and Uruguay 1-0.
"I think he's an optimistic player, confident about his possibilities and those of his teammates," De la Fuente said in a prematch news conference on Wednesday. "We know what our potential is. We know how far we can go. [Yamal's] words, in their context, seem very positive to me. He transmits optimism, confidence, security, and I love that."
Yamal played just 19 minutes against Cape Verde, before scoring an early goal in 45 minutes versus Saudi Arabia, but then finding it more difficult in 76 minutes against Uruguay.
"Lamine can now play whatever we ask of him," De la Fuente said, when asked if the Barcelona winger could complete 90 minutes on Thursday. "We've been, as always, very careful with all the players' recovery.
"It isn't the same playing a very demanding game, very intense and fast, where you might only be able to play half an hour, and other games that are more comfortable and you can play 70 minutes. Lamine is really good. You've seen how excited he is to play."
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick acknowledged Yamal's immeasurable talent, but said it was his team's job to defend -- not watch -- the Spain winger.
"He is an excellent player, and he will be for the next 12, 13, 14 years or even longer if he stays healthy and keeps a good head on his shoulders," Rangnick said Wednesday. "If you look at [Lionel] Messi, you can see he could play a lot of matches. He's one of the players we'll watch very closely tomorrow. We'll try not to give him space when he starts dribbling. He's a player all fans love to watch, but it's our task to make sure he has the ball as little as possible."
De la Fuente gave an upbeat injury update on wingers Nico Williams and Yéremy Pino -- who both picked up injuries against Uruguay -- and Víctor Muñoz, who is yet to feature at this World Cup.
"Yeremy's recovery has been miraculous," De la Fuente said. "After the game it looked like a [collarbone] fracture and it wasn't. With his character and his courage, he's back training completely normally.
"Victor is also training normally but he hasn't competed for a while. Nico got a big shock, he thought he had an important injury after the game, but it wasn't like that. It's moderate discomfort that prevents him from playing tomorrow, but we're optimistic he'll be there for the next game, if we go through."
De la Fuente insisted that he's even more positive about Spain's tournament prospects than before the competition began.
"As the days pass, I believe even more in this team," De La Fuente said. "I've always believed in this team. For me they're the best in the world. As the tournament evolves, there's equality with the results we're seeing.
"I'm still just as demanding, still just as realistic, but also more optimistic every day."