Luis de la Fuente's list for the matches against Cyprus in Limassol on Thursday 16 and Georgia in Valladolid on Sunday 19, qualifiers for the next European Championship in Germany, has news. As expected, Aleix Garcia, the captain of Girona, has entered and is the first from the Montilivi club to make his debut in a match for the absolute Spanish national team. The other new arrivals are Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Riquelme (Atlético) and Remiro (Real Sociedad). Spain is already classified after the victory in the last game in Norway.
As planned, Barcelona's Pedri, who has just come off injury, is not on the list. Also missing are the injured Kepa, Laporte, Olmo, Asensio and Yeremi Pino. Iñigo Martínez is back, and the rest of the Blaugrana are Gavi, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal. Balde has not entered either.
The coach commented on why Pedri was not included: "He has just come off a long injury and we know each other perfectly. We count on him for everything. When you improve you will have the opportunity to add to it. It's a superclass." About Balde, he said: "He is a plus and I encourage him to continue working".
The coach of La Rioja justified his list like this: "I know that I am unfair to those who do not come, but very fair to those who come. As my admired Vicente del Bosque used to say, the bad luck is that I have more players than positions to cover. They are all very good and there are no holes. Nothing is given to anyone here." Then the redhead explained what she wants: "I am not a hostage to any system. The important thing is the model, the idea, to be recognizable, which is the strength of the selection".
The Spanish coach spoke about his work: "Making a list is very complex. Many things must be assessed, an essential aspect is that they are good people to fulfill the magic word, which is team".
De la Fuente ends his contract on June 30 and does not want to talk about his possible renewal despite the fact that the Eurocopa is played between June 14 and July 14: "I am where I want to be. I'm happy. When it is appropriate to negotiate, which is not the time now, if both parties agree, both parties are happy. If not, nothing happens. The door closes and see you later", he said.
De la Fuente sees the Eurocopa block already done: "I have no doubts about the next calls. I think we have a very formed blog. Surely there will be losses, but the bloc is formed", he insisted. "There are others who couldn't come, but they will knock on the door and it's something we should be proud of, that great players stay out."
