Player Features

Spain’s Chance to Shine on the International Stage


The Spanish team is set to take on Andorra this Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. on La 1 at the Nuevo Vivero in Badajoz, in the first of two warm-up matches before the start of the Euro Cup. A big highlight will be Pedri returning to the team. The Barcelona player will be wearing the La Roja jersey again after a year and a half since his last international match back on December 6, 2022. Following Luis Enrique‘s team’s heartbreaking loss on penalties to Morocco in the round of 16 of the last World Cup in Qatar, the talented Canarian footballer had been sidelined due to injuries.

Luis de la Fuente is hoping that Pedri can regain his form and get ready for the challenge of the Euro, alongside other young talents like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.

Excitement for Lamine Yamal

The National Team arrived in Badajoz yesterday with 23 players, where they were greeted by hundreds of fans. Lamine was one of the most popular and cheered players among the fans. Rodri and Olmo remained at the Ciudad del Fútbol for specific training. Also missing from the squad against Andorra are Champions League winners (Carvajal, Nacho, and Joselu), as well as Laporte, who will join the team later.

De la Fuente plans to use the friendly against Andorra to give playing time to most players (with the promising Fermín hoping to earn a spot in the Euro squad) and finalize the list of 26 players selected for the tournament in Germany. Spain will kick off their Euro campaign on June 15 in Berlin against Croatia led by Modric.

The Spanish coach will need to cut three players from the initial squad of 29 before the second friendly against Northern Ireland on Saturday at the Son Moix stadium in Mallorca at 9:30 p.m. Northern Ireland will also face Andorra in another friendly on Tuesday, June 11 at the Nueva Condomina in Murcia.

Spain’s winning streak of six games came to an end after their victories in the Nations League, with losses in friendlies against Colombia (0-1) at the London Stadium and a draw against Brazil (3-3) at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Andorra is gearing up to take on Spain for only the second time ever. Back on June 5, 2004, La Roja triumphed over the Pyrenees with a 4-0 victory at the Getafe Coliseum. This match was not only a win for Spain but also helped them prepare for the Euro in Portugal that summer.

Koldo Álvarez‘s team is heading into this event following a draw with South Africa (1-1) and a loss to Bolivia (1-0) in two friendly matches of the FIFA Series 2024. Andorra has not won a game in 15 matches. Their most recent victory was on September 22, 2022, when they defeated Liechtenstein (0-2) with goals from Berto Rosas and Joan Cervós. It’s worth mentioning that midfielder Ludo Clemente (38) will retire after the friendly against Ireland next Tuesday.



This content has been translated and adapted from the Spanish version of the digital newspaper



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