Over the years, FC Barcelona has always enjoyed strong representation in the Spanish national team. La Roja’s squad often includes several players from the Catalan club, many of whom are homegrown, though not exclusively.
Luis de la Fuente’s Spain are the reigning European champions. The Spanish tactician guided his team to an outstanding performance at the Euros in Germany, where La Roja appeared a step ahead of all their opponents, led by two young stars – Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.
Spain is set to name their squad for the two games against Denmark and Serbia on Friday morning. De La Fuente already has decided his preliminary list and it is up to him to make the final decisions before putting out the official squad list.
As per Mundo Deportivo, Luis de la Fuente could call up as many as six players from Barcelona for the Nations League games in the upcoming international break. The obvious three names would be Pedri, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal.
The aforementioned trio are regulars in De La Fuente’s setup when fit. Even Ferran who does not look convincing in a Barcelona shirt always seems to deliver when playing for the national team. Thus, the selection of those three is a no-brainer.
The other three players in contention for a call-up are Alejandro Balde, Inigo Martinez, and Marc Casado. The first name on the list has recovered very well from his long-term injury and will be competing with the impressive Marc Cucurella and Alejandro Grimaldo for a spot.
Inigo has been in superb form this season. He has been an unlikely hero for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona so far. With Robin le Normand out with an injury, a spot that opens up in defense could be occupied by the 33-year-old veteran.
Casado has played his way into contention after emerging as one of the best in La Liga this season. His call-up is an outside chance but if he isn’t called up by Luis de la Fuente, he is almost assured a spot in the U-21 setup.
Interestingly, Pau Cubarsi’s name has not been mentioned in this report but he has been impressive and could be in line for a Spain call-up too. Like Casado however, even if the senior call doesn’t come, the U-21 will surely have a place for him along with Pablo Torre.
While the fact that there is so much Barcelona representation for Spain is a thing of pride, injuries during international break have a special relationship with the club and one can only hope whoever is called up returns in full health for a difficult schedule post the break.
