21-year-old Barcelona star continues to knock on national team door with recent performances | OneFootball

FC Barcelona thrashed eternal rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in what was a memorable performance for the Catalan club. Hansi Flick’s men took Carlo Ancelotti’s side apart brick by brick in an excellent display of attacking football.

In many ways, Real Madrid got lucky and were saved off their blushes after Barcelona received a red card early in the second half, reducing them to 10 men. If not, one can only wonder what the scoreline might have been when the game finished.

There were so many players in the Barcelona team who were incredible on the night but one player who deserves special attention is Alejandro Balde. It is worth mentioning here that the game did not start off on an expected note for the Spaniard.

Balde was run ragged by Kylian Mbappe on a counter but the 21-year-old did not let that goal he conceded affect him. Since that moment, the youngster was flawless, getting forward repeatedly, drawing a save from Courtois, and then eventually getting his goal.

Now, as per Mundo Deportivo, Alejandro Balde’s consistently improving performances means he continues to knock on the door of the Spanish national team for a comeback, having missed out for a while now.

It is a battle of La Masia graduates for the left-back role in the Spain national team. So far, Luis de la Fuente has chosen to persist with the impressive Marc Cucurella and the wily Alejandro Grimaldo but it’s time he starts looking at Balde.

What Balde brings to the table is incredibly unique and his ability to get past players is something that is valuable in the left-back role. He almost never loses the ball when trying to carry it out and has been improving with every passing game under Hansi Flick.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Balde, with regards to the Spanish national team. The March international break might give him a chance to return to the fold and let’s wait and see how it plays out.