The biggest players on Luis de la Fuente’s list: Asensio, Porro, Lucas, Miguel Gutierrez, Ramos…
Luis de la Fuente has announced the 29 members of the provisional list who will compete for the 26 places that will travel to Germany to compete in the European Cup. June 7 is the deadline for sending the final decision to UEFA. In such a comprehensive preliminary list, not many names are left out, but there are a few cases that stand out from the rest.
The most noticeable gaps may be in the defensive zone. The coach surprised by missing Pedro Porro (24 years old). The Tottenham defender finished the season well and was already on the list for the latest friendlies in Colombia and Brazil. A similar line was used with Pau Torres (27 years old). The Aston Villa centre-back has left the selected squad. It was never an integral part of Luis de la Fuente’s preferences, but its absence is striking.
Equally or more important is the absence of the Real Madrid player. Lucas Vazquez (32 years old). The Spaniard was on everyone’s lips thanks to his superb performance at the end of the Whites’ season. Lucas, Carvajal’s regular substitute, was one of As.com’s readers’ favourites, although he has not featured for the national team since the 2018 World Cup.. The final third of the campaign under Ancelotti raised hopes of a move to Germany for Lucas.
One of the big disadvantages, mainly because it has almost always been among the technician’s preferences, is Oyhan Sunset (24 years old). The one from Athletic has finally fallen. It was already difficult for him due to the inclusion of Isco, but a serious injury to the Betis player opened the door again…
Claim in favor of Miguel Gutierrez
There is also controversy regarding the reduction Miguel Gutierrez (22 years old). The defender is yet to make his debut for La Roja, but his excellent campaign in Girona has given him the opportunity to make his Spain debut at a major tournament. A last-minute injury to Guy (Valencia) opened up a gap for him, but in the end Luis de la Fuente opted for Grimaldo (Leverkusen) and Cucurella (Chelsea). His absence became one of the most commented on social networks and among the most devoted followers in Spain. The left-back deserved his chance.
Of the players who took part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, one omission from the EuroCup list stands out: Marco Asensio (28 years old). The Spaniard did not finish his career at PSG due to injuries and finally dropped out of the squad. The coach did not want to go into details of his absence: “I admire Asensio. “We’re going to focus on those who are here and appreciate them.”
There are only Morata and Joselu as zonal strikers, so another cleaner striker was expected. All eyes were on Gerard Moreno (32 years old). and even more so when the Villarreal player returned to the team for the March friendlies. In the end he failed to convince Luis de la Fuente and he dropped out of the European Championship.
Isco’s return would be one of the big surprises, although Luis de la Fuente has already confirmed that he looked very good and his presence was almost confirmed if he had not been injured (like Gavi). It would be equally surprising if Sergio Ramos (38) had the opportunity to extend his 180 caps for Spain.. The Sevilla defender has not featured for the national team since March 2021, but his name always generates interest and he is always ready to continue playing for La Roja. Ramos’ return to the Spanish national team has always been a mystery, and in this case it was also a mystery.
The generational change in La Roja is obvious. Of the 24 players Luis Enrique took to Qatar, only 11 match De la Fuente’s list: Unai Simon, Raya, Carvajal, Laporte, Rodrigo, Marcos Llorente, Olmo, Morata, Ferran, Nico Williams and Pedri.
Follow the Diario AS channel on WhatsApp, where you will find everything about sports in one space: news of the day, agenda with the latest news about the most important sporting events, the most striking images, the opinion of the best AS. companies, reports, videos and a little humor from time to time.