Madrid (Spain), Nov 10 (IANS) Spain coach Luis de la Fuente made four debut call-ups on Friday when he named his squad for the forthcoming European Championship qualifying games against Cyprus and Georgia.
The four debutants are Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro, Atletico Madrid winger Rodrigo Riquelme, Girona wing-back Aleix Garcia and Bayer Leverkusen left-back Alex Grimaldo,
The squad has been conditioned by injuries to players such as Real Madrid goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, and forwards Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio and Yeremy Pino, forcing the coach to make the changes.
Former FC Barcelona B-team player, Grimaldo was a regular for Benfica and has been excellent with Leverkusen this season, while Aleix Garcia has been a key player for current La Liga leader Girona this season, and Riquelme has impressed since returning to Atletico Madrid after a season on loan with the Catalan club, reports Xinhua.
Central defender Inigo Martinez also returns to the squad to replace Aymeric Laporte, with De la Fuente explaining that Laporte, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, has a foot injury.
Meanwhile, Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde is a surprise omission, with the coach commenting that “he has to continue working better every day.”
Spain have already assured its place in next summer’s European Championships and should have few problems with the visit to a weak Cyprus next Thursday and a home game against Georgia.
Following is the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Unai Simon, David Raya, Alex Remiro.
Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Jesus Navas, Inigo MartInez, Pau Torres, Robin Le Normand, David Garcia, Jose Luis Gaya, Alex Grimaldo.
Midfielders: Rodrigo Hernandez, Martin, Zubimendi, Gavi, Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz, Oihan Sancet, Rodrigo Riquelme, Aleix Garcia.
Forwards: Alvaro Morata, Joselu, Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal.
–IANS
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