Right-back Marcos Llorente said Spain are working hard to get the best out of star winger Lamine Yamal as they prepare to face Austria in the FIFA World Cup round of 32.
Spain trained at their tournament base in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Monday, a day before flying out to Los Angeles for their first game of the knockout phase at SoFi Stadium.
Rated among the World Cup favourites, Spain qualified top of Group H but didn't always impress in their displays against Cape Verde and Uruguay, while Yamal has been racing to regain his match sharpness after recovering from injury.
"Little by little, we're getting to know each other," Llorente, who started two of Spain's three group games, said in a news conference on Monday, when asked about his on-field relationship with Yamal.
"Lamine is a player who doesn't need much help [in attack]. Sometimes it would make things worse. It's best to give him the ball, and you stay back, to leave him in a one-on-one situation, and not bring your man with you to where he is.
"You have to look at what's best for him, as a player who makes the difference. There are moments to get up field, and others not to."
Yamal played just 19 minutes against Cape Verde, 45 minutes -- scoring an early goal -- against Saudi Arabia, and then 76 minutes against Uruguay.
Llorente was asked if he'd spoken to Eric GarcÃa, who has frequently played with Yamal for Barcelona, for tips on combining with Yamal.
"I haven't asked Eric to be honest," Llorente said. "But yes [we've looked at] videos, the coach [Luis de la Fuente] asks some things of us, whoever the fullbacks are.
"With Lamine, you exchange opinions, ask him what he needs, if he needs you to push up or not. You talk about it in games too. The more communication, the better."
Llorente was also asked about teammate Nico Williams, who suffered an injury against Uruguay -- after struggling with another before the tournament -- and called it "one of the worst days of my life" in a social media post.
"You can read some words on social media, but you don't really know how the person is," Llorente said. "It's a very difficult moment for him, after the year he's had. But it's part of our work.
"He's now dealing with it much better, he's got the same smile as always. Of course he'll be hurting inside for not being able to help the team.
"If we go far, maybe he can help us at some point."
