Nations league
The promising talent of La Masia will become the youngest player to debut for Spain, starting from the start against the European champion
Luis Enrique’s youth Spain faces a maturity test against Italy in the first semi-final of the Nations League. The powerful team led by Roberto Mancini, current champion of a European Championship in which he dismounted La Roja in the prelude to the final, will once again calibrate the cooking point in which there is a selection that oozes freshness, illusion and ambition but which, in this new stage of reconstruction, drags an ambivalent trajectory.
It seems inevitable given that the gear is still in the process of assembly and is carried out with still inexperienced footballers in big events wearing the national jersey. Something similar to what happened to the Nazionale when, after staying out of the World Cup in Russia, it underwent a profound renovation that paid off this summer by touching the sky at Wembley.
Immersed in the challenge of emulating that successful journey is the Spanish team. The fiascos chained in the World Cup in Brazil, the European Championship in France and the World Cup in Russia opened a wide regeneration truffled with shocks. Guided by the courage and firmness of character that always guided his steps, Luis Enrique has paved the way for a new litter that has yet to settle down to show that one day he can follow in the footsteps of that unforgettable other that Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, championed. Xavi, Iniesta, Fernando Torres, David Villa and company.
The multi-site European, in which he carried out a commendable exercise of resilience to stand in the semifinals, was a sign that there is raw material for the fans to dream again, but confirmation remains and the League of Nations is presented as a excellent touchstone.
As he has been doing since he took over the leadership of the national team, Luis Enrique comes with a list full of young talents. The greatest exponent is the Barcelona player Gavi, who, in his capacity as headline, will become, at 17, the youngest international in the long history of La Roja. Only one more spring counts Yéremi Pino, the other newcomer in the Asturian’s call. Eric García (20 years old), Pedro Porro (21), Bryan Gil (20) or Ferran Torres (21) also contribute a lot of freshness to a combined whose average age is 25.21 years.
The reverse of that fresh air, of course, is his short baggage. Nine footballers do not reach a dozen caps in a block whose average number of appearances with the national team is 20.39. And this thanks to the presence of some illustrious veteran like Sergio Busquets (130 games at 33 years old), Koke Resurrección (58 with 29 years old) or David de Gea (46 with 30 years old) who raise the bar.
Luis Enrique’s test tube
The pivot of Barça and the midfielder of Atlético continue to be vital pieces of a team in which thirteen participants repeat in the recent European Championship. The payroll would have been higher had the team not been shaken by a plague of injuries. Gayà, Jordi Alba, Morata, Gerard Moreno or Dani Olmo would have been part of the expedition for sure in case of not dragging different mishaps that undermine the team, especially in attack and put the focus on Luis Enrique’s test tube.
The coach, again questioned for not citing any Real Madrid footballer and instead enlisting a player like Gavi who barely adds up to 364 minutes in the elite, will have no choice but to envy with a false nine against Italy, who also goes to the appointment with weight absences.
Roberto Mancini cannot count on Immobile, Belotti, Toloi, Pessina, Castrovilli or Spinazzola, all of them European champions. Despite this, the Azzurra has a squad brimming with quality and physique to which it adds an intimidating statistic: they have chained 37 games without losing. Their last defeat dates back to September 10, 2018, when they succumbed to Portugal at Estádio da Luz 1-0. Since then, he has recorded 30 wins and seven draws, with an overwhelming balance of 93 goals in favor and only 12 against.
His vibrant football fell in love with at the Eurocup, although he has only added one win in the three games he has faced since he left the celebrations behind; 5-0 against Lithuania in the qualifying phase for the World Cup in Qatar, which followed two separate draws with Bulgaria and Switzerland. To this must be added that she leaves with the band of favorite and hostess, two factors that can weigh against her due to the added responsibility that they carry. Spain also clings to this, ready to enjoy without pressure.
Lineups
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Italy:
Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Bastoni, Emerson, Barella, Jorginho, Verratti, Chiesa, Insigne and Bernardeschi. -
Spain:
Unai Simón, Azpilicueta, Laporte, Pau Torres, Marcos Alonso, Busquets, Koke, Gavi, Oyarzabal, Sarabia and Ferran Torres. -
Referee:
Sergei Karasev (Russia) -
Hour:
20:45 h. -
Stadium:
San Siro. -
TV:
La1.
.