Spain has included Barcelona’s Ansu Fati but left out the Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcântara and the Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea from their World Cup squad.
Fati, 20, made his international debut in 2020 at 17 and in his second game became the youngest player to score for Spain. But the forward is fighting back from four surgeries to repair an injury to his left knee, sustained in November 2020.
Spain’s coach, Luis Enrique, said: “I doubted until the last minute but I decided for him because his technical qualities are amazing and being here with us could work as a big motivation for him as he’s still working to get back to peak form.”
The coach declined to comment on players who were left out, but the absence of De Gea, Thiago and Marcos Alonso points to his preference to go all-in with Spain’s new generation of talent.
De Gea has fallen out of favour with Luis Enrique, who said in March he “wanted to test other goalkeepers”, and Thiago saw his role diminish with the rise of the Barcelona teenagers Pedri and Gavi.
“Youth gives you freedom because you are not yet aware of the consequences,” Luis Enrique said. “Yet most of the youngsters with us are already in high-level teams. The bar that I’m setting is infinity.”
The former Barcelona coach said he never had doubts about whether he was the best man for the job. “How can I doubt myself? I am the best coach on the face of the earth,” he said. “If I have to convince my players I have to be convinced myself … There is no better coach than me. I know it’s not true, but I believe it. Doubts? None!”
source – The Guardian
