BarcelonaLuis Enrique Martínez has provided this Friday at noon the list of 26 players of the Spanish national team for the World Cup in Qatar. Five Catalans are part of it, as well as a total of seven players from Barça, the only Catalan team that adds talent to the national team, which will make its debut in the meeting next Wednesday, November 23 against Costa Rica (5 p.m.). Before that, however, he will play a friendly with Jordan on Thursday next week at the International Stadium in Amman.
The 26 chosen by Luis Enrique to fight for the World Cup in Qatar
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Porters
Unai Simón (Athletic Club), David Raya (Brentford) and Robert Sánchez (West Bromwich Albion). -
Defenses
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Eric Garcia (Barça), Hugo Guillamón (Valencia), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Pau Torres (Villa-Real), Jordi Alba (Barça) and José Luis Gayà ( Valencia). -
midfielders
Sergio Busquets (Barça), Koke Resurrección (Atletico de Madrid), Marcos Llorente (Atletico de Madrid), Pedri González (Barça), Pablo Páez ‘Gavi’ (Barça), Carlos Soler (PSG) and Rodrigo Hernández ‘Rodri’ (Manchester City). -
in front
Álvaro Morata (Atletico de Madrid), Ferran Torres (Barça), Dani Olmo (Leipzig), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Yeremi Pino (Villa-real), Pablo Sarabia (PSG) and Nico Williams (Athletic Club) and Ansu Fati (Boat).
The great novelty of Spain’s list is the presence of Ansu Fati, who has not been called up with the absolute selection since October 2020, just before suffering the knee injury that has embittered him in recent months, with four operations, relapses and associated muscle injuries. Although he is not the undisputed starter in Xavi Hernández’s Barça, Luis Enrique has decided to count on the Hispano-Guinean forward, one of the attackers with the most flair for goalscoring in the League. “Ansu is in the process of getting back to what he was before the injury and assessing when he will be at his best,” said the coach at the press conference he offered after giving the list. In other words, he doesn’t see him at 100%, but he values his potential in the seven games that, if they reach the final, Spain would play.
The main absentees from the call are defenders Iñigo Martínez, Sergio Ramos, Nacho Fernández, Àlex Moreno or Alejandro Balde; midfielders Mikel Merino, Sergio Canales, Brais Méndez; and forwards Borja Iglesias, Raúl de Tomás and Iago Aspas. Luis Enrique did not want to assess specifically any of these absences. The surprises on the list of available players, beyond that of Ansu Fati, are the Valencia player Hugo Guillamón and the young striker of Villa-real Yeremi Pino. Of the first, the selector values his versatility and of the second, his ability to overflow on the right side. On the other hand, questioned by the level that Busquets has displayed lately, the Asturian coach has been meridian: “There is no pivot in the world better than Busi for the game we want to play. If we have the ball and settle down in the opponent’s field, it’s the best.”
Five Catalans, four Valencians and one Mallorcan
Of the 26 called up for the World Cup, 10 are originally from the Catalan Countries. There are five Catalans (Busquets, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba, Olmo and Raya), four Valencians (Pau Torres, Gayà, Soler and Ferran Torres) and one Mallorcan (Marco Asensio). In terms of the number of Catalans, there is an increase of three to five in relation to the World Cup in Russia (2018), a stagnation compared to that of Brazil (2014) and a decrease from seven to five in contrast to that of the South – Africa (2010). Of the entire list, only six players already know what it is like to play in a world championship (Carvajal, Azpilicueta, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Koke and Asensio), The rest, two dozen footballers, will make their debut in an event like this in Qatar. The generational change in Spanish football is a fact.
