Luis de la Fuente has had more than three months to X-ray the health of Spanish football and the profile of the player he wants in a team that blew up at the World Cup in Qatar and precipitated the departure of Luis Enrique from the national bench. The Rioja coach has facilitated his first call this Friday as the head of La Roja, a team that presents very important novelties in all lines compared to the last list of the Asturian coach. The most appropriate thing would be to describe it as a revolution because there are a total of 15 changes in the men’s list made by De la Fuente, who has called up two Athletic players. Iñigo Martínez and Nico Williams will be in the official commitments against Haaland’s Norway and Scotland, both qualifiers for the 2024 Euro Cup in Germany, while footballers like Yeray, Vivian and Sancet -were on the shortlist- will have to continue waiting for their opportunity.
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There was a lot of interest in finding out about De la Fuente’s first choice, the degree of separation that was going to distance him from Luis Enrique’s preferences and the depth of the change. And it has been of an oceanic depth, sidereal compared to the 26 that went to Qatar. The coach has chosen to keep some players untouchable -Laporte, Carvajal, Gavi, Rodri, Pedri (who fell in the afternoon due to his injury) and Morata- and has added others such as Kepa Arrizabalaga, Nacho, David García, Zubimendi, Fabian , Ceballos, Bryan Gil, Joselu and Aspas, among others, with which he intends to renew the profile of Spain. Therefore, Azpilicueta, Jordi Alba, Marcos Llorente, Pau Torres, Koke, Asensio, Busquets (the Barcelona player said goodbye to the national team), Soler, Ansu Fati, Pino and Ferran, all of them present at the last World Cup event, are not there.
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Among those called up are Iñigo Martínez and Nico Williams, with the logical absence of Unai Simón due to injury. There is no doubt that the Athletic goalkeeper is La Roja’s number one, but his muscular mishap has prevented him from responding to the call from the La Rioja coach. Everybody assumes that the man from Murgia will be in the ‘Final Four’ of the League of Nations in June in the Netherlands, where the national team will face Italy in the semifinals. On the other side of the draw the hosts will face Croatia. In fact, the coach himself has stated in his subsequent appearance that the rojiblanco goalkeeper is a fixture in his plans. «I send you a hug from here and I wish you a speedy recovery. He knows that we count and that we have blind trust in him.
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Concentration
Call-ups for De la Fuente will be concentrated on Monday the 20th to begin preparation for the match against Norway, which will be played on March 25 at La Rosaleda. Three days later, this time at the Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow, Spain will face Scotland in the framework of the second day of Group A corresponding to the qualifying phase for the Euro Cup in Germany. A group completed by Cyprus and Georgia. Athletic will once again be represented in the international showcase after they sent Unai Simón and Nico Williams to the Qatar World Cup with La Roja, as well as sending Iñaki Williams with Ghana. Now a new stage begins under the command of De la Fuente and once again the rojiblancos have entered into the coach’s plans.
-The 25 summoned:
Goalkeepers:
Kepa, Robert Sanchez and David Raya.Defenses:
Gayà, Balde, Laporte, Iñigo Martínez, Nacho, David García, Pedro Porro and Carvajal.Midfielders:
Rodri, Zubimendi, Gavi, Fabián Ruiz, Merino and Ceballos.Forwards:
Morata, Olmo, Nico Williams, Bryan Gil, Oyarzabal, Aspas, Joselu and Gerard Moreno.
Iñigo Martínez returns to a call-up for the national team nine months later, with several injuries that prevented him from being in the World Cup, while Nico Williams remains after his participation in the planetary event. The rojiblanco central defender, who reappeared in the Cup against Osasuna after two months in cotton pads due to plantar fasciitis, did not take long to convince De la Fuente that his place is in the national team. When he is at his level, the Ondarroa defender is indisputable both in Athletic and with Spain. As for the winger, who is not going through his best moment, has verified that the new coach trusts him. He has played six games with La Roja (Switzerland, Portugal, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan and Morocco) and now he is aiming for the League of Nations and the Eurocup.
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“They are the 26 players with whom we started the journey for Germany 2024,” De la Fuente explained in the video in which he announced his 26 chosen ones. «There are two important matches: one at La Rosaleda, where we will have the support of an extraordinary fan base, and another in Glasgow. We just want to give the fans a lot of joy and make them feel proud of us,” the coach remarked. A man who wanted to distance himself from the previous stage, lead a revolution and introduce young and veteran footballers with whom he intends to restore the shine to the national team. Recovering people like Iñigo, Oyarzabal and Aspas, and betting on David García, Zubimendi, Porro and Joselu, among others, he speaks clearly that as of this Friday new times are in the La Roja dressing room.
