Del Bosque: Scandal won’t affect my team choice

Posted Monday, June 13, 2016 by Goal.com

Del Bosque: Scandal won’t affect my team choice
Vicente del Bosque has come out in support of David de Gea amid an off-field scandal and criticised the media for their fixation on who will start in goal on Monday.

The Manchester United goalkeeper has been implicated in a shocking sex scandal that is very likely to have an impact on La Furia Roja's preparations for their Euro 2016 opener against the Czech Republic on Monday.

But Del Bosque made a point of highlighting his support for De Gea and the Spanish team's capacity for dealing with adversity.

"It's a key game," he told Radio Marca. "I'm not saying that Czech Republic are worse than the other teams, but it's very important for us to avoid the unexpected in our first game.

"We know that we handle adversity very well, but we must be prepared to win the match regardless of whether we are advantaged or disadvantaged.

"[The De Gea situation] has been explained and the goalkeeper's calm. I've gone back and forth, but before this all happened, I'd already decided on the issue of starting goalkeeper."

Del Bosque went on to express his frustration over the continued speculation of who will start in goal for the defending champions.

"There's been enough debate [on my first-choice goalkeeper] since the moment I chose the 23-man squad. Everyone's entitled to their view," he added.