After the Spanish left-back Jose Luis Gaya had to leave training after spraining his right ankle on Wednesday during the final warm-up session of the Spanish camp, he is also ruled out of any possible participation in the World Cup.
Football can be really cruel at times, as the veteran only would know how proud he must be when he received the call-up. Although, this last-minute injury is really disheartening and we would like to offer him our condolences and a speedy recovery.
Today an official club statement confirmed that Alejandro Balde has been called up for the World Cup by the Spanish national team. He will replace Jose Gaya, who picked up a knee injury. Previous reports claimed that the possible options were veteran Marcos Alonso and the emerging youngster, but the Spanish coaching staff have invested their faith in the young fullback.
The young La Masian has enjoyed a breakout season under Xavi Hernandez at the helm. He has the pace, the physicality, the acceleration, and the ability to be productive offensively as well as defensively.
Moreover, his ability to adjust as the right-back also means that Luis Enrique has a versatile option at his disposal, who can give nearly the same impact irrespective of the position where he is deployed. Though it’s notable that he overlaps better from the left and takes better shots when deployed on the right.
His productivity in terms of goal-scoring actions and buildup is also very underappreciated, and he’s also aerially dominant as well. It is a well-deserved call-up for Balde as he looks to leave a mark on the Spanish National team after mesmerizing all the Camp Nou faithful with his marvelous displays.
