Luis de la Fuente insists Inigo Martinez is in excellent form and deserves another call-up to the Spain squad.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has revealed the reason behind his decision to call up Barcelona centre-back Inigo Martinez to the Spain squad for the first time since mid-2024, with the 33-year-old in fine form and fitting into his plans.
‘I called him back because he was never หากคุณสนใจเล่นพนันออนไลน์ที่ดีที่สุด สามารถสมัครสมาชิก UFABET ได้ที่นี่ พร้อมรับโปรโมชั่นพิเศษสำหรับสมาชิกใหม่ part of our plans, even though other players played at other times. This is the right moment because he is doing very well and he fits perfectly into our game plan,’ De la Fuente explained.
The Spanish coach also explained the reason why he has not yet called up Pablo Paez Gavira Gavi, the 20-year-old midfielder of Barcelona, saying: ‘There are many players who could be here but do not play, which shows the strength of Spanish football. There is a very good selection of players for the plan we have and, in my opinion, this is the best we can do. ‘
De La Fuente also spoke about Pedro Gonzalez Lopez Pedri, who is playing brilliantly for Barcelona, saying: ‘He is in a period of maturity and is performing better than ever before, but we are not yet the best version of Pedri. He allows us to do many things because of his all-round ability. ‘
‘He’s one of the best players in the world in his position. We’ll appreciate what we’ve got and enjoy him.’
Asked who between Pedri and Daniel Olmo would start for Spain as he wanted, the Spaniard joked: ‘I have written to FIFA to ask if they allow me to play with 16 players. Let’s see if Lamine, Nico, Pedri, Olmo can play together. If they allow us to play with 16 players, it’s difficult. We have very good players. Any one of them can start. ‘
He ended by saying about Lamine Yamal: ‘He still has to grow. He’s only 17. Don’t forget that. We have to let him enjoy himself. He can go far, but the first person to kill him is them (the media). He’s unbelievable and he has to be prepared to deal with the criticism.’