David de Gea believes La Rojita should not underestimate Norway in their European Under-21 Championship semi-final on Saturday.
The Manchester United stopper is aware of the dangers the Norwegians pose and has urged his teammates to focus solely on their opponents and not on the final.
“We’ve spoken about this in the dressing room. Against teams like Norway games are more difficult because there is a tendency to relax and say you should win.
“These are very difficult games, particularly since the other side will come out very motivated,” he told UEFA.com
De Gea, who has 25 Spanish Under-21 appearances under his belt and is just two short of Santi Denia’s record, knows what it is like to win a European Under-21 Championship as he was part of the team that won the title in Denmark two years ago.
“What we did then was really wonderful. Therefore, the message we try to get across to the group is that this is a unique tournament you maybe only get the chance to play in once in your lifetime, with any luck two, so you must give everything to try and win it.”
The 22-year-old also feels the key to any Spain success lies in the understanding that has developed amongst his teammates.
“We’ve been together a long time and played lots of games, so we know each other perfectly well and the truth is that it is a pleasure to play with these lads,” explained De Gea, who admitted his team ‘had luck on our side’ to win two of their group games in the final minutes.
“There are some teams that are harder to beat than others, just like there are times when it seems the ball does not want to go in,” he said.
De Gea acknowledged that at the moment Spanish football is undergoing something ‘incredible’ and congratulated the generation that is representing his country right now.
“You can’t ask for more. It’s difficult to imagine another generation like this one. All of Spain and the whole world are watching the football we are playing.”
Finally, he had words of praise for Spain Under-21 boss Julen Lopetegui, a former goalkeeper himself.
“We know him very well. He has played the game and is aware of what it’s like to be here, and he transmits that.
“I think he’s doing a good job. In any case, he is a plus for us ‘keepers because he can give us all kinds of advice, so that’s a great help,” concluded De Gea.
