THIAGO OUT OF SPAIN SQUAD
30 Sep 2021
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Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been left out of the latest Spain squad ahead of the latest set of World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022 in the European section. The £20m Liverpool player was not part of the 24-man squad named by manager Luis Enrique ahead of the games against Sweden, Georgia and Kosovo in Group B.
Thiago earns around £200,000 on a weekly basis at Liverpool and he tasted just 65 minutes of action at Euro 2020 as Spain reached the semifinals. Apart from Thiago, the likes of Barcelona starlet Pedri, Real Sociedad star Mikel Oyarzabal, and RB Leipzig forward Dani Olmo were also left out. Olmo, Oyarzabal, and Pedri were all rested after their involvement at the Euro 2020 tournament and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Spain manager Luis Enrique has continued with his youth policy following the new squad named on Thursday. A lot of the players from the squad to the Euro 2020 tournament were under the age of 23. He has retained the same youth policy in addition to some experienced players for his new squad. The experienced players include Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, Juventus striker Alvaro Morata, Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba as well as Raul Albiol who's making a return to international football. Villarreal centre back Albiol was part of the Spain squad that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa.
Luis Enrique has given three players an invitation to the Spanish senior national team for the first time and they are West Ham United midfielder Pablo Fornals, Sporting Braga forward Abel Ruiz and Celta Vigo midfielder Brais Mendez.
Enrique and his Spanish players have started the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers well after recording seven points from the first three games and a similar point haul from the upcoming three games would take them closer to their quest to qualify for Qatar 2022 as Group B winners.