Barcelona teenage duo included in Spain’s provisional squad for the World Cup | OneFootball

According to Diario AS, Spain manager Luis Enrique has selected his 55-man provisional squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and has included the names of Barcelona teenagers Ansu Fati and Alejandro Balde on the list.

The World Cup in Qatar is less than a month away and teams have started naming their preliminary squads for the tournament. As many as 55 players can be named on the provisional list which will need to be whittled down to 26 for the tournament.

Injured Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo was named in Uruguay’s preliminary squad earlier this month while Dutch duo Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong are included in the Netherlands’ roster.

Now, as per the report, Ansu Fati and Alejandro Balde are on the list of probables for Spain. It is claimed that Enrique has asked the RFEF not to make the list public, given that there are several players on the list who are currently injured and are doubts for the World Cup.

Ansu Fati was excluded by Enrique for Spain’s previous set of international fixtures, which created a lot of storm. But the manager cited the young forward’s lack of minutes and recent injury issues as a reason to leave him out for the time being.

While Fati’s situation, as far as game-time is concerned, has not improved significantly, the 19-year-old has shown signs of form in recent matches and is in the reckoning to make the final list for Qatar.

As for Balde, recent reports had suggested that the 18-year-old could be a surprise selection made by Lucho for the World Cup owing to his impressive breakthrough this year.

So, his inclusion on the preliminary list does not come as a shock, although he continues to be behind Jose Gaya and Jordi Alba in the order of preference, as per the report.

Other Barcelona stars like Sergio Busquets, Eric Garcia, Pedri, Gavi and Ferran Torres are certainties for Spain given that they are seen as vital components of Enrique’s plans.

What will now be interesting to see is whether Fati or Balde join them when the final 26-man squad list for the World Cup which Enrique plans to announce on November 11.