:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71645761/1433843195.0.jpg)
Barcelona teenager Alejandro Balde has been unable to hide his delight at being called up to Spain’s World Cup squad.
The left-back will head to Qatar for the tournament as a replacement for Jose Luis Gaya who has suffered an ankle injury.
Balde was with the Spain Under-21 squad when the news came through and his reaction was captured by Hugo Novoa.
Cuando te enteras de que te vas al Mundial de Catar...
— Relevo (@relevo) November 18, 2022
Esta ha sido la reacción de Balde tras conocer la noticia. El jugador del Barça estaba concentrado en Sevilla con la Sub-21.
Quien lo graba es su compañero, Hugo Novoa.
IG: @/hugonovoa_ pic.twitter.com/TF7yxvICF5
It’s a deserved reward for Balde after an impressive breakthrough season at Barcelona, where he’s played regularly on both sides of the defense under Xavi.
Balde’s call-up also means Barcelona make history, with a record number of players at the World Cup finals.
NEW ALL-TIME RECORD for most players (17) from a single club to participate in a single edition of the #FIFAWorldCup!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 18, 2022
ter Stegen
R Araujo
Sergio
O Dembélé
Pedri
Lewandowski
Ansu Fati
Ferran
Memphis
Christensen
Jordi Alba
F de Jong
Raphinha
Kounde
Eric
Balde
Gavi#ForçaBarça
The teenager got the nod to replace Gaya over Barca team-mate Marcos Alonso and joins Jordi Alba as Luis Enrique’s options at left-back.
Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte is also a possibility as he played in that position for an hour in Thursday’s friendly against Jordan.
Spain are currently preparing for their first game of the tournament which is against Costa Rica on Wednesday, November 23. La Roja then go on to play Germany and Japan in Group E.
Loading comments...