Spain reached Sunday's final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey after eliminating France, while Argentina booked their place with a dramatic late comeback against England in the semi-final.
The Spain head coach used bullfighting terms to describe his squad, his staff and his hopes for the game, delivering a closing image that captures the mood of an entire country: the only way to finish this campaign is by lifting the World Cup.
Asked which matador he would be if he had to choose one, De la Fuente did not hesitate.
"Well, look, my great friend Emilio de Justo," he said.
Pushed on who would be his apoderado — the figure who manages a bullfighter's career — he pointed to a trusted member of his own coaching staff.
"The apoderado is Aitor Karanka, who is always the one protecting and advising," he said.
When asked who he would award the banderillas to in the final, De la Fuente reframed the question entirely, rejecting the idea that they represent punishment.
"The banderillas... thinking of it as a prize, as a reward, I'd give them to the Spanish team. I know they usually carry a sense of punishment, but I'm not one for punishing anyone," he explained.
On the decisive blow, he was characteristically direct.
"The best estocada would be winning the final," De la Fuente said. Asked to whom he would dedicate that triumph, he broadened his answer beyond football.
"I think to our whole country, which is committed to our goal and our work. And, of course, more personally, to my family and my friends."
Turning to Argentina, De la Fuente described their "toro bravo" not as a single player but as a collective force.
"The team. I think they have a great side, obviously led by Messi, but the bull is the whole team," he said. And of his own squad? "Spectacular, the best in the world," he said of his cuadrilla.
Asked, finally, what the best possible faena would look like, De la Fuente gave an answer that needed no elaboration.
"It would be lovely to finish it by winning the final and dedicating that victory to an entire country that is committed to us, our beloved country, Spain."
It is a message that sums up the stakes for a Spain squad chasing only their second World Cup, eighteen years after their solitary triumph in South Africa. Sunday's final will pit De la Fuente's side against a Messi-inspired Argentina bidding to become back-to-back champions, with 19-year-old Lamine Yamal carrying much of Spain's attacking hope on the biggest stage of his young career.