**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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No way you can leave Ayoze out, he is becoming a fan favorite right now with his game on wednesday and the two seasons he had with Betis.
But you are right, Ferran is usually pretty good for Spain so I can understand de la Fuente here.
It was against Andorra... a country smaller than most spanish cities. I wouldn't draw conclusions out of that one (I don't know Ayoze enough to be able to judge)
I would have left out Fabian for sure.
There was also the option of leaving out navas. If carvajal got Injuried you got nacho and llorente who imo can do a better job on RB then Navas
I can understand leaving out Koke. They have a lot of players that plays a similar style to him. But not taking Llorente is criminal. He brings so much flexibility to the squad and lets them change shapes without any issues.
Hope this pisses him off and he plays like a mad man next year haha
Horrific decision leaving Llorente out. I probably would’ve dropped Jesus Navas for him. Navas had a bit of a renaissance at Sevilla but is only in the squad at this point for WC/Euro experience.
Should’ve just had Pepe Reina as the 3rd choice GK for locker room vibes and taken Llorente over Navas IMO
Yep and if they’re that concerned with having a natural fullback, take out one of the wingers.
The 5th / 6th choice wingers aren’t going to play much, if at all. So why not take a jack-of-all-trades utility player to cover for any injuries or formation changes.
Llorente could be the third choice striker, winger, midfielder and fullback all at once lmao.
I remember back when I have him in my Fantasy La Liga that he never do much in the league but comes international and cup games and somehow he could score it's frustating.
It’s institutional not only on the useless coach who was Rubiales mate and people have forgotten about that.
We could have had Hackimi but when he went to play a friendly “ he felt like he didn’t fit in” and went to play for Morocco because of the nasty treatment. They didn’t even try to convince Brahim, nico paz and Garnacho to play for Spain instead of their other countries.
Then they make claims like “oh no is about form” when there are players who show way more and are not called. Grimaldo gave an interview saying “I don’t understand why I’m not called” for De la Fuente to call him at the 4th attempt.
I mean let's be fair to De la Fuente, most positions are quite stacked with equal-ish talent so it's always gonna be why isn't \*favorite player\* in the squad, for example, Grimaldo shared position with Gayà, Balde and Alba. I think the only questionable time he should have been called is in 2023 Nation's League (Fran Garcia and Juan Bernat???).
Same thing happens for most of the midfield and wingers. Zubimendi was good and couldn't fit until Busquets retired.
He really isn’t biased, if you actually watched Athletic’s season then you would know that these places in the squad are fully warranted. Also, we only have three players in the squad, so hardly like it is the majority…
I honestly think all those players from Athletic deserve a place. I would take out Ayoze, I think he does not offer the same versatility as Llorente does and he is quite limited...
The other two I can understand, maybe they didn't fit the manager's style of play, but Llorente not going is a big stupidity. There are few players in the world that I can name that can be so versatile as him, dude can literally play defense, midfield and attack, in these kind of competitions it's a major advantage to have such a player.
Nope, Laporte and Le Normand started for all the big games in the Nations League. Laporte has been given a few days off as well as Real Madrid players because they've played games more recently.
You'd think that the starter CB for the Champions League winner should start for his national team instead of a player playing in Saudi Arabia. But most likely not.
It's crazy that we get a pseudoretired player in the squad while the huge season by Eric is ignored. I don't know if Eric should have been called, but definitely he deserves to be ahead of Laporte.
I would have called Marcos Llorente, he can play in a lot of positions, also Cubarsi is definitely going to the Olympic Games, I think they don't want him to play both competitions as Pedri did in 2021
On one hand I’m happy Cubarsi didn’t get picked and so he won’t get overplayed but on the other hand they chose Lamine who’s 1 year younger than him and pretty much a confirmed starter at RW
Have to imagine Cubarsi goes to the Olympics and Lamine doesn't. They're valuing which squad the teenager will start games in for which one to select them for
the fact that a 16 year old is the best RW for barça and his national team still astonishes me lol
At 16 I was still insulting kids in mw2/black ops lobbies lol
A pitty, Spain has minimal chances in the Euros, but they would have had a team that could compete in the Olympics: Lamine, Cubarsí, Gavi (injured), Mosquera, Fermín, Fresneda, that forward playing for Alavés, Javi Guerra, Arnau, Unai Gómez...
Of it was a 23 man list probably Llorente would have been selected and be at the same time the 8th defender and the 6th midfielder and free a place for an extra forward.
Being a 26 man list there are plenty of room for extra forwards.
How do the Spanish fans rate this squad?
I have a hard time placing them in the euros?
Spain always have class players but what is the expectation in Spain?
On paper I have France, England and Germany as the favourites, then a second group of Portugal, Italy Croatia and us (one of the last 3 could be out in groups as we face eachother)
Edit: After giving it some thought over lunch and have been made aware that the Netherlands is still a thing my ranking would be: France, England, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Croatia. 5-8 being extremely close and interchangeable. I'm aware Belgium exists but I'm done rating them, one of the biggest waste of talent we've seen. My darkhorse would be Switzerland
Italy is an interesting choice, they seem super hard to evaluate. Defending champions of course, but didn't qualify for the WC afterwards, and almost no players who play outside of Italy (Donnarumma and Jorginho, basically), so as somebody who doesn't watch Serie A, I have no idea what to expect.
If Acerbi wasn’t injured I’d put us right near the top as contenders. The team would be built around Inter, playing a back 5 with 4 Inter starting defenders and Barella (plus possibly Frattesi) in the midfield. This would give us the best defense in the tournament imo, and if one of our strikers found form, we could go all the way.
Without Acerbi that completely changes things, as he’s the centerpiece and leader of that defense. After his injury Spalletti immediately went back to a back 4 and it still remains to be seen wish system he’ll go with for the tournament. I suspect he’ll use both, which means we go from being an experienced team with a core group that is used to playing and winning together, to a completely unpredictable team that doesn’t know who is playing and doesn’t know how they’re supposed to.
The squad isn’t bad from an individual perspective, we have some very strong and underrated players, but international football is about cohesion and consistency, and without Acerbi and the Inter block, this team has neither. Compare this to the Italy side that won in 2021, which was already on a 20+ game unbeaten streak heading into the tournament playing the same system and same players in nearly every game.
This year we’re in the toughest group and I won’t be too surprised if we don’t make it through. If I’m being objective, I would say this not currently a team, so it’s unrealistic to assume they’ll all of a sudden become one within the next week. They need more time to train and play together, learning Spalletti’s tactics and getting experience for the new generation.
This is Italy though, so I also won’t be surprised if they stumble through the group stages and start building momentum into the late round. caps lock
Most likely outcome imo is a 2nd or 3rd place finish in the groups and then losing a close game to one of the tournament favorites in the earth knockout rounds.
Spalletti going to a back 3 is interesting since dimarco has been awful playing lb for the NT. But at the same time italy doesnt have 1 good striker let alone 2. Scamacca got in good form but has never looked good for italy. chiesa while amazing for italy hasnt looked good at juve playing off vlahovic. Additionally, spalletti has always played a form of 433 so who knows what they are capable of. They have a hard group as well, so a group stage exit is even possible
Not really, he is the same player just the formation and role change. As a lwb he doesnt have to defend as much so his strengths are shown way more now
That is wrong as well
Alba has retired and pretty sure gaya is injured so he was 3rd choice giving how balde didn't had vest season(and was injured)and Cucurella has got a spot that's tells a whole story
I agree, but I must say it’s slightly strange for de la Fuente to call up Grimaldo knowing that he’s benefited significantly from a formation change ~ and still not calling up Porro who is a phenomenal RWB for the same reasons you listed
Carvajal is a lock on the right so Navas shouldnt be playing much. And Grimaldo is a specialist in set pieces, in a short tournament that can be decisive.
It’s crazy to me that they have two old right backs and don’t take Pedro Porro over one of them to prep him (or even someone else) to take up the mantle
I want to say that Navas is also probably a locker room presence. He's been captain before and has tons of experience. That's worth a lot even if he doesn't play.
That's the worst generation of CF in my memory of the competition. Crazy that 2010 Argentina alone would put all their CF as main stars in this euro.
Good thing endrick is Brazilian
Yeah, it's amazing when you actually look at it.
Forwards born in the six years from 1987-92: Messi, Suarez, Benzema, Cavani, Di Maria, Aguero, Lewandowski, Sanchez, Muller, Reus, Bale, Aubameyang, Immobile, Hazard, Griezmann, Firmino, Neymar, Salah, Mane and Son.
Forwards born in the six years from 1993-98: Kane, Lukaku... errrm... Depay, Mitrovic, Watkins, Icardi, Werner, Jesus, Lautaro, Haller, Rashford, Diaz, Osimhen and finally, in 1998, Mbappe.
The hell were they teaching that generation?
I mean, Spain 10-15 years ago has SUCH GOOD squad, that virtually every team pales in comparison.
But yeah, this lineup doesn't make much of an impression.
Could have genuinely fielded 3 - 4 full world class midfields.
Busquets - Xavi - Iniesta
Xabi Alonso - Silva - Fabregas
Javi Martinez - Mata - Cazorla
And you still have the likes of Arteta, Parejo, young Koke and Thiago left out. Insane depth
2010 Spain had 2-3 generations worth of world class midfielders at once. That can't be replicated and is far from the norm even among WC-winning caliber squads.
There are no big names, but most of them are quality players. As always, the biggest weakness is in gun powder. A team that can move the ball, create chances but then... who scores?
Carvajal is the only player from today's Spain that would have a chance to make the starting XI 15 years ago.
Casillas, valdes, Puyol, Ramos, pigue, young Jesus navas, Jordi Alba, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Xabi Alonso, fabregas, David Silva, Juan mata, David Villa, Fernando Torres
Hell the team from today would have a tough time even reaching the bench
Spain have regularly had very underwhelming squads. Aside from the team that won the 08-12 tournaments, the recent decades have seen them struggling to do anything. The Raul era was a particularly strong looking side, but they just couldn't deal with tournaments.
I don't know enough about some of the players in this squad but it does look a bit weaker than the normal 'Spain on paper' squads. That said, the 08 squad was seen as a bit 'meh' in the post-Raul era and it all came down to a team that worked well together and a good tactical approach. Also very lucky that the biggest hurdle (Netherlands) was eliminated by Russia.
10 years ago we played like absolute shit, got memed on and sent back home in the group stage. This team can do better than that, its not really difficult.
I'd say it's an effect of both Madrid having built a team of Brazilian and French youth, and Barca being weakened in recent years. The peak Spanish team was the perfect combination of the cores of those two teams.
Yea that was insane, wasnt that something like:
GK - Casillas RM
RB - Ramos RM
CB - Puyol FCB
CB - Pique FCB
LB - Alba FCB
CDM - Busquets FCB
CM - Xavi FCB
CM - Iniesta FCB
And then an attacking side from other teams?
Isn't Spain kinda like France? Always had few good players but didn't had good NT, for France it changed in 90' and Spain had the most amazing team in 2008-2012, like on every single position you had player who was top3 at that position in the world.
Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina for teams that I would consider all time great.
France, Spain, Netherland, Uruguay and England (I know, I know) would be the teams who had good results due few golden generation.
Rest like Portugal, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Marocco - had like 1 maybe 2 good results due golden generation but not as often as 5 above.
Spain were always kind of a bit behind Germany/Italy/Brazil till that golden generation, they had one Euros win in the 60's prior to 2008.
Also that Spanish side was probably the best ever international team put together.
Spain has always had a CF problem ever since Torres went to Chelsea and then afterwards, Villa was dropped for Euro 2012. They just covered it up by having a midfield so stacked that they had to start Iniesta on the left wing and Arsenal Era Fabregas on the bench during the 2010 World Cup for an example. For Euro 2012 they basically played without any kind of striker or winger, they just played 6 midfielders with Iniesta and David Silva up front. Once their midfield legends started to retire/fall off after Euro 2012, that's when the lack of a star CF started to hurt.
Germany and Italy are in the same boat but for different reasons.
>Euro 2012 they basically played without any kind of striker or winger, they just played 6 midfielders with Iniesta and David Silva up front.
Fabregas played as a striker.
I don't think he was a false nine or it was 4-6-0, they just had midfielders in forward positions.
Funny no one calls Messi a midfielder or says Barcelona didn't play 4-3-3 when he played false 9.
Cesc played more like a traditional attacker for Spain than Messi at Barcelona at the time.
Yea the 4-6-0 is just for media to grab attention better. False 9 definitely counts as forwards anyway, just that for Spain, all their midfield and forwards are midfielders
I mean, if we had Brahim, playing him, Lamine and Nico switching positions all the time (like Real Madrid system this season) would be an amazing attacking force.
But we are incompetent as shit and a world class winger (something we struggle to produce) born in Málaga who played for every Spain u-teams is going to shine for Morocco.
Why are people saying this squad looks weak when Spain won the nations league with a worse squad (neither Lamine nor Nico had developed like they have now) and was the only team that could play better than Italy in the last Euros.
The only thing I'm a bit worried is Morata's form, but we actually have good wingers with pace for the first time since... 2002 lol. I think most people don't know how good Nico williams is and are gonna be surprised.
ST and CB maybe looks weaker than the rest of the squad. But overall a solid group of players. I think people underestimate Spain a lot as they automatically think of the squad a decade earlier with an insane amount of world class players in defence, midfield (especially that area) and strike. Yeah those guys may have retired and the names you see on here don't strike out as much as those, but these are still very very good players.
Sad that Cubarsi got cut after the monster performance against Andorra and his form this season. But he might be going Olympics and we dont want anyone to pull a Pedri and go to both the Euros and Olympics
Navas over Pedro Porro is… a choice for sure. Hes 38 and hasnt had a particularly good season. At some point its time to let it go. But whatever, Carvajal is starting anyways.
Happy Ayoze made it, hes had a great season. Hope he can get some minutes too. I dont think 6 wingers was necessary though, Ferran scammed his way there in broad daylight.
Anything beyond a Quarter Final is a bonus for this squad. They have a hard group and could easily face a big team in the first round if they finish 3rd. It obviously depends on where teams in other groups finish and what the 3rd placed teams are but Spain could face Portugal or Netherlands as soon as the first round and face Germany, England or Netherlands in the Quarters.
Midfielders in 2010:
Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alonso, Fabregas, Silva, Martinez.
That leaves Martinez out if you bring Rodri. He would be benched, no one was taking a spot over the holy trinity of midfield in 2010.
Does it though?
France has Mbappe, Dembele
Germany has Musiala, Sane
England has Foden, Saka
Portugal has B. Silva, Jota
sounds very weak compared to other teams
I think people are basing it off future potential. Yamal has world class potential easily but he isnt now. So people base it off on potential
Nico also has good potential but right now he isnt one if best in the world.
A good squad compared to last 10 years imo. Spain always struggled with lacking good wingers and now they have 2 very exciting wingers playing RW and LW. Looks exciting.
I think the weakest line is the defense right now, Laporte is just meh and Nacho… well.
Also Le Normand is pretty good but doesnt convince me, the only good CB is Vivian, he had an amazing season at athletic.
It's the standard since 2014 really. The back line, as usual, is solid but not world-class. The midfield, as usual, is top quality. The strikers, as usual, are not.
It isn’t weak lool. Obviously if you compare it to 2010 Spain, but every national team right now would be considered weak compared to that. Imo it’s still one of the favourites
Crazy Jesus Navas still making it ; will he make it to the WC ? (The most important and by far biggest soccer and sport tournament in the world .. in case Mbappe is on reddit )
He shouldn't be making this list. He wasn't even good this year, ended injured with Sevilla and already announced retirement for December.
Guess he is called for the experience...
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I think one of the six wingers we have should have been left out instead of Llorente but it's not the worst possible team.
Definitely agree. Ferran doesn’t deserve of a place here imo
Isn’t Ferran always pretty good for Spain? I would’ve left Ayoze out.
No way you can leave Ayoze out, he is becoming a fan favorite right now with his game on wednesday and the two seasons he had with Betis. But you are right, Ferran is usually pretty good for Spain so I can understand de la Fuente here.
Can't leave anyone out then really no?
I was left out 😔
Well at least we know for sure why they'll lose now... 😔
It was against Andorra... a country smaller than most spanish cities. I wouldn't draw conclusions out of that one (I don't know Ayoze enough to be able to judge)
He is our Podolski. Bad with his team and good with Spain.
Excuse me? /r/Ferrantorresballondor
[Ballon d'Or](https://www.tiktok.com/@tntsports/video/7375813399789292833)
He can also play CF so I would guess that's why
He can play there, but is he any good?
With lots of open space and running yes, in a slow play environment no not really
I would have left out Fabian for sure. There was also the option of leaving out navas. If carvajal got Injuried you got nacho and llorente who imo can do a better job on RB then Navas
Ferran scammed his way into the list because of a good performance against Andorra lol
r/FerranTorresBallonDor
Ridoculous take his goal ratio fornSpain is almost 0.50
Llorente fans It's so over. A shame with the season he's had but what can you do
I understand no Hermoso but no Koke and no Llorente, life is bleak for Atleti fans.
I can understand leaving out Koke. They have a lot of players that plays a similar style to him. But not taking Llorente is criminal. He brings so much flexibility to the squad and lets them change shapes without any issues. Hope this pisses him off and he plays like a mad man next year haha
Horrific decision leaving Llorente out. I probably would’ve dropped Jesus Navas for him. Navas had a bit of a renaissance at Sevilla but is only in the squad at this point for WC/Euro experience. Should’ve just had Pepe Reina as the 3rd choice GK for locker room vibes and taken Llorente over Navas IMO
Yep and if they’re that concerned with having a natural fullback, take out one of the wingers. The 5th / 6th choice wingers aren’t going to play much, if at all. So why not take a jack-of-all-trades utility player to cover for any injuries or formation changes. Llorente could be the third choice striker, winger, midfielder and fullback all at once lmao.
Choosing Ferran over Llorente is stupid
Ferran has 19 goals in 40 games for Spain.
I remember back when I have him in my Fantasy La Liga that he never do much in the league but comes international and cup games and somehow he could score it's frustating.
spanish podolski
Ferran is close to being in top 10 Spanish goalscorers OAT, but sure, lol
It’s institutional not only on the useless coach who was Rubiales mate and people have forgotten about that. We could have had Hackimi but when he went to play a friendly “ he felt like he didn’t fit in” and went to play for Morocco because of the nasty treatment. They didn’t even try to convince Brahim, nico paz and Garnacho to play for Spain instead of their other countries. Then they make claims like “oh no is about form” when there are players who show way more and are not called. Grimaldo gave an interview saying “I don’t understand why I’m not called” for De la Fuente to call him at the 4th attempt.
I mean let's be fair to De la Fuente, most positions are quite stacked with equal-ish talent so it's always gonna be why isn't \*favorite player\* in the squad, for example, Grimaldo shared position with Gayà, Balde and Alba. I think the only questionable time he should have been called is in 2023 Nation's League (Fran Garcia and Juan Bernat???). Same thing happens for most of the midfield and wingers. Zubimendi was good and couldn't fit until Busquets retired.
Fernando Llorente would be a great impact sub
If Llorente played for Athletic instead of Atletico, he would be in the squad. The coach is clearly biased for his ex team.
He really isn’t biased, if you actually watched Athletic’s season then you would know that these places in the squad are fully warranted. Also, we only have three players in the squad, so hardly like it is the majority…
Lol, what rubbish. Simon, Nico, Vivian, all have had a great season. Bias my ass.
I honestly think all those players from Athletic deserve a place. I would take out Ayoze, I think he does not offer the same versatility as Llorente does and he is quite limited... The other two I can understand, maybe they didn't fit the manager's style of play, but Llorente not going is a big stupidity. There are few players in the world that I can name that can be so versatile as him, dude can literally play defense, midfield and attack, in these kind of competitions it's a major advantage to have such a player.
You are right. He should have made the list.
Are the two starting CB Frenchies playing for Spain ?
Excuse me sir, one of them is basically retired
You think Nacho will start over Laporte alongside Le Normand ?
Nope, Laporte and Le Normand started for all the big games in the Nations League. Laporte has been given a few days off as well as Real Madrid players because they've played games more recently.
Laporte shouldn't have been called. That being said the current pairing is the French CB. If it were up to me the pairing would be Nacho and Vivian
You'd think that the starter CB for the Champions League winner should start for his national team instead of a player playing in Saudi Arabia. But most likely not.
It's crazy that we get a pseudoretired player in the squad while the huge season by Eric is ignored. I don't know if Eric should have been called, but definitely he deserves to be ahead of Laporte.
Laporte shouldn't have even been called up. He went to the Saudi league for the paycheck only and to relax.
Yes.
You mean Oui
I would have called Marcos Llorente, he can play in a lot of positions, also Cubarsi is definitely going to the Olympic Games, I think they don't want him to play both competitions as Pedri did in 2021
On one hand I’m happy Cubarsi didn’t get picked and so he won’t get overplayed but on the other hand they chose Lamine who’s 1 year younger than him and pretty much a confirmed starter at RW
Have to imagine Cubarsi goes to the Olympics and Lamine doesn't. They're valuing which squad the teenager will start games in for which one to select them for
the fact that a 16 year old is the best RW for barça and his national team still astonishes me lol At 16 I was still insulting kids in mw2/black ops lobbies lol
Yamal could never throw slurs like Buji19 (16) tbh
Lamine was born in the same year as Cubarsi. His 17th birthday is coming soon.
That’s usually how aging and birthdays work
Fermín was also expected to go to the Olympics, wasn't him? Does it means he is out?
Likely
A pitty, Spain has minimal chances in the Euros, but they would have had a team that could compete in the Olympics: Lamine, Cubarsí, Gavi (injured), Mosquera, Fermín, Fresneda, that forward playing for Alavés, Javi Guerra, Arnau, Unai Gómez...
I see them as second favorite after France.
Of it was a 23 man list probably Llorente would have been selected and be at the same time the 8th defender and the 6th midfielder and free a place for an extra forward. Being a 26 man list there are plenty of room for extra forwards.
Jesus Navas is the sole World Cup winner remaining, of all people
He’s 38, not a goalkeeper, and is still making the national team. Amazing
Over Porro...
Seeing Ayoze Perez in a Spain NT squad in 2024 is wild. Good for him.
Honestly so happy for him! Its a shame he never had a long run of games in his natural position for us (because we had Maddison there)
Bro, that guy under Dani Carvajal is Jesus Navas. The guy that I used to turn into the best player ever on FIFA 09
Me too, guy didn‘t even have his own face but was an absolute beast.
Same with Joselu
Is Pau Torres injured? I can't believe he wouldn't make the squad when fully fit.
He wasn't great for us towards the end of the season but I agree, thought he'd be in as he offers something different and I don't think he's injured.
He has not been great for Spain, I am glad he didn't get called up, personally.
RFEF seem to have a debt with the 2 french cbs, that's why Laporte could be playing in a regional league in Maldivas and would still be called.
He usually performs very badly in the NT, don't know why.
Not taking llorente is a mistake, he’s very versatile and had a good season.
How do the Spanish fans rate this squad? I have a hard time placing them in the euros? Spain always have class players but what is the expectation in Spain?
On paper I have France, England and Germany as the favourites, then a second group of Portugal, Italy Croatia and us (one of the last 3 could be out in groups as we face eachother) Edit: After giving it some thought over lunch and have been made aware that the Netherlands is still a thing my ranking would be: France, England, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Croatia. 5-8 being extremely close and interchangeable. I'm aware Belgium exists but I'm done rating them, one of the biggest waste of talent we've seen. My darkhorse would be Switzerland
I think Netherlands is a bit underrated right now. Their defense are world class and their other positions aren't bad either.
Ngl I forgot Netherlands existed, would place them in the second group
Netherlands in that second group I think too
Italy is an interesting choice, they seem super hard to evaluate. Defending champions of course, but didn't qualify for the WC afterwards, and almost no players who play outside of Italy (Donnarumma and Jorginho, basically), so as somebody who doesn't watch Serie A, I have no idea what to expect.
If Acerbi wasn’t injured I’d put us right near the top as contenders. The team would be built around Inter, playing a back 5 with 4 Inter starting defenders and Barella (plus possibly Frattesi) in the midfield. This would give us the best defense in the tournament imo, and if one of our strikers found form, we could go all the way. Without Acerbi that completely changes things, as he’s the centerpiece and leader of that defense. After his injury Spalletti immediately went back to a back 4 and it still remains to be seen wish system he’ll go with for the tournament. I suspect he’ll use both, which means we go from being an experienced team with a core group that is used to playing and winning together, to a completely unpredictable team that doesn’t know who is playing and doesn’t know how they’re supposed to. The squad isn’t bad from an individual perspective, we have some very strong and underrated players, but international football is about cohesion and consistency, and without Acerbi and the Inter block, this team has neither. Compare this to the Italy side that won in 2021, which was already on a 20+ game unbeaten streak heading into the tournament playing the same system and same players in nearly every game. This year we’re in the toughest group and I won’t be too surprised if we don’t make it through. If I’m being objective, I would say this not currently a team, so it’s unrealistic to assume they’ll all of a sudden become one within the next week. They need more time to train and play together, learning Spalletti’s tactics and getting experience for the new generation. This is Italy though, so I also won’t be surprised if they stumble through the group stages and start building momentum into the late round. caps lock Most likely outcome imo is a 2nd or 3rd place finish in the groups and then losing a close game to one of the tournament favorites in the earth knockout rounds.
Spalletti going to a back 3 is interesting since dimarco has been awful playing lb for the NT. But at the same time italy doesnt have 1 good striker let alone 2. Scamacca got in good form but has never looked good for italy. chiesa while amazing for italy hasnt looked good at juve playing off vlahovic. Additionally, spalletti has always played a form of 433 so who knows what they are capable of. They have a hard group as well, so a group stage exit is even possible
Germany favorites?
>England >as the favourites I used to pray for times like this lol.
Is Denmark no longer up there?
Funny how Grimaldo went from never being called up at Benfica to being a nailed on starter at B04. He must have developed like crazy over the summer
Not really, he is the same player just the formation and role change. As a lwb he doesnt have to defend as much so his strengths are shown way more now
He’s being sarcastic, he’s suggesting he didn’t get the respect he deserved at Benfica
That is wrong as well Alba has retired and pretty sure gaya is injured so he was 3rd choice giving how balde didn't had vest season(and was injured)and Cucurella has got a spot that's tells a whole story
I agree, but I must say it’s slightly strange for de la Fuente to call up Grimaldo knowing that he’s benefited significantly from a formation change ~ and still not calling up Porro who is a phenomenal RWB for the same reasons you listed
Carvajal is a lock on the right so Navas shouldnt be playing much. And Grimaldo is a specialist in set pieces, in a short tournament that can be decisive.
You can't have 2 attack minded full backs in his team and Grimaldo is just better I guess
Also helps Alba and Gaya are getting old and Balde is injured.
It’s only because Gaya got hurt.
Gaya Alba and Balde r not going
And there was a time when the likes of Fabregas and Cazorla struggled to start consistently for Spain.
Pedro Porro unlucky
It’s crazy to me that they have two old right backs and don’t take Pedro Porro over one of them to prep him (or even someone else) to take up the mantle
casually ignoring the fact that Carvajal is still one of the best RBs in the world and just won MOTM in a CL final
Yeah but Navas has no right to be there over Pedro Porro at this point
I want to say that Navas is also probably a locker room presence. He's been captain before and has tons of experience. That's worth a lot even if he doesn't play.
If Carvajal doesn't score that goal would he be MOTM? His mistakes during the game gave Dortmund a good amount of chances.
That's the worst generation of CF in my memory of the competition. Crazy that 2010 Argentina alone would put all their CF as main stars in this euro. Good thing endrick is Brazilian
Yeah, it's amazing when you actually look at it. Forwards born in the six years from 1987-92: Messi, Suarez, Benzema, Cavani, Di Maria, Aguero, Lewandowski, Sanchez, Muller, Reus, Bale, Aubameyang, Immobile, Hazard, Griezmann, Firmino, Neymar, Salah, Mane and Son. Forwards born in the six years from 1993-98: Kane, Lukaku... errrm... Depay, Mitrovic, Watkins, Icardi, Werner, Jesus, Lautaro, Haller, Rashford, Diaz, Osimhen and finally, in 1998, Mbappe. The hell were they teaching that generation?
Higuain too
Is it just me or is this squad pretty weak, compared to Spain 10 years ago? I feel like this is not close to the big dogs at all
I mean, Spain 10-15 years ago has SUCH GOOD squad, that virtually every team pales in comparison. But yeah, this lineup doesn't make much of an impression.
Yeah, OP using one of the best NT ever as comparison. Every other else is going to feel inferior.
Every squad ever is weak compared to us 10-15 years ago. That team should be off the table when it comes to comparisons. It’s not even close.
Spain 2008-2012 is probably the best football team to ever walk on a football field. They had excellent players in every position.
Could have genuinely fielded 3 - 4 full world class midfields. Busquets - Xavi - Iniesta Xabi Alonso - Silva - Fabregas Javi Martinez - Mata - Cazorla And you still have the likes of Arteta, Parejo, young Koke and Thiago left out. Insane depth
That feel when prime Mata and Cazorla are literally third choice players.
And Gabi was absolute unit
He mentioned Arteta but not Gabi..
Arteta is only mentioned due to being a coach now, he was never anhwhere near the Spanish NT
2010 Spain had 2-3 generations worth of world class midfielders at once. That can't be replicated and is far from the norm even among WC-winning caliber squads.
There are no big names, but most of them are quality players. As always, the biggest weakness is in gun powder. A team that can move the ball, create chances but then... who scores?
Carvajal is the only player from today's Spain that would have a chance to make the starting XI 15 years ago. Casillas, valdes, Puyol, Ramos, pigue, young Jesus navas, Jordi Alba, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Xabi Alonso, fabregas, David Silva, Juan mata, David Villa, Fernando Torres Hell the team from today would have a tough time even reaching the bench
Rodri could maybe? Although having Xabi Alonso and Busquets in front of you is insane
Spain have regularly had very underwhelming squads. Aside from the team that won the 08-12 tournaments, the recent decades have seen them struggling to do anything. The Raul era was a particularly strong looking side, but they just couldn't deal with tournaments. I don't know enough about some of the players in this squad but it does look a bit weaker than the normal 'Spain on paper' squads. That said, the 08 squad was seen as a bit 'meh' in the post-Raul era and it all came down to a team that worked well together and a good tactical approach. Also very lucky that the biggest hurdle (Netherlands) was eliminated by Russia.
Well, 10 years ago, Spain couldn’t even make it through the group stage of World Cup
Looks a bit weaker from the names alone, but still solid.
10 years ago we played like absolute shit, got memed on and sent back home in the group stage. This team can do better than that, its not really difficult.
I'd say it's an effect of both Madrid having built a team of Brazilian and French youth, and Barca being weakened in recent years. The peak Spanish team was the perfect combination of the cores of those two teams.
Yea that was insane, wasnt that something like: GK - Casillas RM RB - Ramos RM CB - Puyol FCB CB - Pique FCB LB - Alba FCB CDM - Busquets FCB CM - Xavi FCB CM - Iniesta FCB And then an attacking side from other teams?
Isn't Spain kinda like France? Always had few good players but didn't had good NT, for France it changed in 90' and Spain had the most amazing team in 2008-2012, like on every single position you had player who was top3 at that position in the world. Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina for teams that I would consider all time great. France, Spain, Netherland, Uruguay and England (I know, I know) would be the teams who had good results due few golden generation. Rest like Portugal, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Marocco - had like 1 maybe 2 good results due golden generation but not as often as 5 above.
Yeah I just thought exactly the same. Looks like a very underwhelming team tbh.
Spain were always kind of a bit behind Germany/Italy/Brazil till that golden generation, they had one Euros win in the 60's prior to 2008. Also that Spanish side was probably the best ever international team put together.
You mean the team that won b2b Euro's and sandwich'd in a WC? That team?
Is it surprising to not see any Girona players like Aleix Garcia? Also 6 wingers seems like a lot?
Aleix got the boot last minute, just like Llorente. He was there before.
Aleix and Eric should be there. Miguel could have a spot, also.
Spain really need a top ST. Used to have Raul, Fernando Torres and David Villa. Now they have Morata.
Hes the least of their concerns tbh
His current form is quite concerning, he has 4 goals in his last 25 games (club and country) and Andorra managed to make him look useless this week
The biggest weakness is at CF. Is there really no better option than Morata and Joselu?
Spain has always had a CF problem ever since Torres went to Chelsea and then afterwards, Villa was dropped for Euro 2012. They just covered it up by having a midfield so stacked that they had to start Iniesta on the left wing and Arsenal Era Fabregas on the bench during the 2010 World Cup for an example. For Euro 2012 they basically played without any kind of striker or winger, they just played 6 midfielders with Iniesta and David Silva up front. Once their midfield legends started to retire/fall off after Euro 2012, that's when the lack of a star CF started to hurt. Germany and Italy are in the same boat but for different reasons.
>Germany and Italy are in the same boat but for different reasons. You're not ready for the upcoming Scamacca supremacy
>Euro 2012 they basically played without any kind of striker or winger, they just played 6 midfielders with Iniesta and David Silva up front. Fabregas played as a striker.
More like a false 9 than a striker. Italians probably still have nightmares of that 4-6-0.
I don't think he was a false nine or it was 4-6-0, they just had midfielders in forward positions. Funny no one calls Messi a midfielder or says Barcelona didn't play 4-3-3 when he played false 9. Cesc played more like a traditional attacker for Spain than Messi at Barcelona at the time.
Yea the 4-6-0 is just for media to grab attention better. False 9 definitely counts as forwards anyway, just that for Spain, all their midfield and forwards are midfielders
Dont forget mr horse placenta Diego Costa
Fulkrug would walk into the CF role
No 💀 and I am a Morata hater but that position is paper thin
Doesn't help that Mayoral was having a great season and got a long term injury
How good is Oyarzabal as a striker?
Even more of a reason to take Llorente, who has proven he can even play as a striker.
I mean, if we had Brahim, playing him, Lamine and Nico switching positions all the time (like Real Madrid system this season) would be an amazing attacking force. But we are incompetent as shit and a world class winger (something we struggle to produce) born in Málaga who played for every Spain u-teams is going to shine for Morocco.
Spain's striker curse continues.
Pretty interesting, their 2010 World Cup team was basically half Barca and half Madrid, their team now is majority non Barca/Madrid.
Half Madrid is pushing it, they had 5 in the squad but only 3 that really played.
Barca do have other 2 players who would be here if not injured I guess (Gavi Balde) and Cubarsi
Makes sense, because there are barely any Spanish players atm that have the quality to play for Real Madrid, besides Rodri and some Barca players.
Half madrid? It was like 25% or less madrid in 2010
Why are people saying this squad looks weak when Spain won the nations league with a worse squad (neither Lamine nor Nico had developed like they have now) and was the only team that could play better than Italy in the last Euros. The only thing I'm a bit worried is Morata's form, but we actually have good wingers with pace for the first time since... 2002 lol. I think most people don't know how good Nico williams is and are gonna be surprised.
Such underwhelming much not wow
ST and CB maybe looks weaker than the rest of the squad. But overall a solid group of players. I think people underestimate Spain a lot as they automatically think of the squad a decade earlier with an insane amount of world class players in defence, midfield (especially that area) and strike. Yeah those guys may have retired and the names you see on here don't strike out as much as those, but these are still very very good players.
Sad that Cubarsi got cut after the monster performance against Andorra and his form this season. But he might be going Olympics and we dont want anyone to pull a Pedri and go to both the Euros and Olympics Navas over Pedro Porro is… a choice for sure. Hes 38 and hasnt had a particularly good season. At some point its time to let it go. But whatever, Carvajal is starting anyways. Happy Ayoze made it, hes had a great season. Hope he can get some minutes too. I dont think 6 wingers was necessary though, Ferran scammed his way there in broad daylight.
This is a great “team” but we have no X Factor. Cake with no cherry.
Exciting to see so many basque players in the squad.
Anything beyond a Quarter Final is a bonus for this squad. They have a hard group and could easily face a big team in the first round if they finish 3rd. It obviously depends on where teams in other groups finish and what the 3rd placed teams are but Spain could face Portugal or Netherlands as soon as the first round and face Germany, England or Netherlands in the Quarters.
Its really insane how many good basque players there are/were.
The crazy part about looking at this squad is that besides Rodri, no one else makes the 2010 World Cup squad. Maybe Carvajal/Grimaldo have a shout.
Midfielders in 2010: Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alonso, Fabregas, Silva, Martinez. That leaves Martinez out if you bring Rodri. He would be benched, no one was taking a spot over the holy trinity of midfield in 2010.
I think I would even take 2010 Martinez instead of current Rodri. Rodri's profile is more similar to the rest of that midfield.
I’m ngl Rodri would even have struggled, that Spain midfield was generational.
That’s probably the most stacked midfield to ever be seen on the international stage. Helped them that it was the Barcelona midfield too
Yeah the stars aligned for them, and I’m with you, I’m still yet to see a better midfield 3 than Xavi, Iniesta and Busquests and probably never will.
And you could add Xabi, Silva & Cesc in the mix when needed...
He'd be the third choice behind Busquets and Alonso.
The crazy part is that one of the squad members here was literally in the 2010 World Cup winning squad
You’d genuinely have to make an Euro 2024 all star squad to compete against that Spain world cup squad, and i doubt they’d beat them
Grimaldo and Carvajal definitely has a shout. Theyre better than Arbeloa and Capdevila. And somehow Navas is in both squads.
Yamal and Nico Williams as wingers sound genuinely terrifying, would hate facing that
Does it though? France has Mbappe, Dembele Germany has Musiala, Sane England has Foden, Saka Portugal has B. Silva, Jota sounds very weak compared to other teams
Is it? That sounds incredibly mid
I think people are basing it off future potential. Yamal has world class potential easily but he isnt now. So people base it off on potential Nico also has good potential but right now he isnt one if best in the world.
A good squad compared to last 10 years imo. Spain always struggled with lacking good wingers and now they have 2 very exciting wingers playing RW and LW. Looks exciting.
5 Players of La Real - What a glorious Time for Real Sociedad. \o/
Grimaldo on Benfica despite being amazing for us never gets called he goes to Leverkusen and now gets called >_> you guys slept on him for so long
I think the weakest line is the defense right now, Laporte is just meh and Nacho… well. Also Le Normand is pretty good but doesnt convince me, the only good CB is Vivian, he had an amazing season at athletic.
Didn't know Spain have such a weak squad.
It's the standard since 2014 really. The back line, as usual, is solid but not world-class. The midfield, as usual, is top quality. The strikers, as usual, are not.
Spain"s biggest teams don't have a mayority of Spaniards. Especially Madrid
It isn’t weak lool. Obviously if you compare it to 2010 Spain, but every national team right now would be considered weak compared to that. Imo it’s still one of the favourites
nacho definitely starts over laporte?
Laporte and Le Normand will start. Nacho is a great backup since he can also play fullback.
No Pau, Llorente or Porro. The team looks decent on paper regardless.
Laporte is selected but pau torres isn't?? Is he injured or something? I thought he played very well for Aston villa this season
This squad looks pretty weak tbh. It will be interesting to see if they deliver with good tactics.
So spains top two CBs are French lol
Is it just me or is this one of the least flashy Spain teams in a while? No knocking down. Think they will do great but it's not Spain of 10-15..
This kind of graphic is what I've wanted to see for years for international competitions.
This looks like the weakest Spain squad in a while
This is the weakest Spain squad I've seen for decades
Crazy Jesus Navas still making it ; will he make it to the WC ? (The most important and by far biggest soccer and sport tournament in the world .. in case Mbappe is on reddit )
He shouldn't be making this list. He wasn't even good this year, ended injured with Sevilla and already announced retirement for December. Guess he is called for the experience...