Luis Enrique called up Barcelona forward Ansu Fati for the 2022 World Cup when he announced his roster on Friday. The 20-year-old Barcelona striker was not used in September’s Nations League games and has not been at his best for his club this season. Fati has four caps for his country and one goal, and has spent the best part of the past two seasons on the sidelines due to repeated knee injuries. Luis Enrique included him in a list of 26 players for the tournament in Qatar, which did not include veteran Paris Saint-Germain defender Sergio Ramos, despite speculation he could return.
“(Ansu) was one of the doubters until the last minute, we bet on him for others,” Luis Enrique told a news conference.
“Ansu’s level in football is indisputable, but he has gone through a difficult process. I hesitated until the last second.
“The hope of getting him back to his best has influenced the decision. Is he close? Yes, no… we’ll see.
“He has played for his club, but he is not a permanent fixture in the team. I think this could be a great incentive to get him back to where he was, but there are still doubts to clear up. We will see during the World Cup.”
Ramos, 36, who is Spain’s record player in 180 appearances for the national team, has found fitness and form at his club this season.
Instead, Valencia’s versatile defender Hugo Guillamon, who played three games for Spain, was selected, along with Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, who acquired Spanish nationality in 2021.
Luis Enrique, who brought just 24 players to Euro 2020 out of a possible 26, has chosen to select his full complement this time around.
In addition to veteran players such as Barca duo Sergio Busquets, who won the Spanish World Cup squad in 2010, and Jordi Alba, the coach opted for younger, relatively untried options.
Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams and Villarreal winger Yeremy Pino were selected, along with players like Fati and Guillamon.
No club bias
Former Barca coach Luis Enrique has been criticized in the past for not calling out Real Madrid players, but Los Blancos pair Dani Carvajal and Marco Asensio were among them.
Other major absentees were Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara, Real Betis’ Borja Iglesias and Barcelona’s Marcos Alonso.
Seven players from the Catalan giants were on the list, including young midfielders Pedri Gonzalez and Gavi.
“As I always tell you, I don’t look at the clubs where the players come from,” said Luis Enrique.
“I don’t base the national side around a (club) team, I think it’s the opposite.
“I don’t pay attention to the number of players in a particular club, nor to their ages. I focus on the values we want, to be able to compete in our team.”
Spain will open their World Cup campaign in Group E against Costa Rica on November 23, before facing champions Germany on November 27, 2014 and Japan on December 1.
Selection:
goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), Robert Sanchez (Brighton/ENG), David Raya (Brentford/ENG)
Defenders: Jose Gaya (Valencia), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Eric Garcia (Barcelona), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City/ENG), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Hugo Guillamon (Valencia), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea/ENG), Dani Carvajal ( Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City/ENG), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona), Pedri Gonzalez (Barcelona), Carlos Soler (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)
promoted
Ahead:Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig/GER), Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germian/FRA), Alvaro Morata (Juventus/ITA), Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Nico Williams ( Athletic Bilbao), Yeremy Pino (Villarreal)
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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