In a mild surprise, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Pedri will not feature in Spain’s Olympic football squad for the upcoming Paris Games, despite all being eligible due to their age. The trio naturally made Spain’s roster at the European Championship currently going on in Germany and has been given some time off after its conclusion.
While Yamal, Williams and Pedri get a well-deserved rest, two players, Fermín López and Álex Baena, can boast about featuring in both events. After all, it is an under-23 Olympic soccer event— each nation is allowed the luxury of including up to three over-age players in their team.
In place of Barcelona’s promising teenage defender, Pau Cubarsí, not included in the Euro squad, comes into this Olympic team. There is an extent to which that is indicative of the real depth available to Spanish national teams at different levels.
Olympic coach Santi Denia has announced his three overage players to complement the 22 players: Sergio Gómez, 23, of Manchester City; Abel Ruiz, 24, of Sporting Braga; and Juan Miranda, 24, of Real Betis. These old guards are expected to add experience and leadership to the youthful team.
In the full squad list, some of the rising stars are in line with experienced players. The goalkeepers are Arnau Tenas – Paris Saint-Germain, Joan García – Espanyol, and Alejandro Iturbe – Atletico Madrid, all ready to guard the net. Defenders: Juanlu Sánchez – Sevilla, Marc Pubill – Almería, Eric García – Barcelona, Pau Cubarsí – Barcelona, Jon Pacheco – Real Sociedad, Cristhian Mosquera – Valencia, Miguel Gutiérrez – Girona, and Juan Miranda – Real Betis Breed.
Santi Denia has selected midfielders Aimar Oroz from Osasuna, Beñat Turrientes from Real Sociedad, Álex Baena from Villarreal, Adrián Bernabé from Parma, and Pablo Barrios from Atletico Madrid. Upfront, they include Fermín López of Barcelona, Sergio Gómez of Manchester City, Abel Ruiz of Sporting Braga, Samu Omorodion from Alaves, Sergio Camello of Rayo Vallecano, and Diego López of Valencia.
The team is expected to report into training camp on 1 July, where they are to open their competition against Uzbekistan on 24 July. After that, Spain will play the Dominican Republic and Egypt in Group C.
This year’s Spanish Olympic team seems to be an amalgamation of youth with its budding potential and the art that experience has to offer. This will definitely put Spain through to victory in Paris. Besides the big guns like Yamal, Williams, or Pedri not being there, it has promising talent that rules out Spain from being a pushover at the Olympics.
As the team gets its campaign running, fans and analysts will very closely keep an eye on how this balanced squad can blend together and edge towards tasting some of the past glories.
