Why has Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde been left out of Spain squad?

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has told Alejandro Balde to keep working hard after leaving the left-back out of his latest squad.

The decision is something of a surprise with the Spain boss calling up Alejandro Grimaldo instead for games against Cyprus and Georgia.

De la Fuente didn’t really want to talk about Balde when speaking to the press after announcing his squad but did send some kind of message.

“I will only talk about players with physical problems. Balde is another player and I encourage him to continue working harder because it is good for Spanish football,” he said.

Barcelona may be relieved to see Balde get a rest over the international break, particularly as Spain have already qualified for Euro 2024.

Pedri has also been left out of the squad, after only just returning from injury, and De la Fuente made it clear he’s still a key player despite his absence this time around.

“I can say little about him. He is not injured,” he said. “He is a footballer who has just come off a long injury. We count on him for everything. He is a super class.”

Spain head to Cyprus on Thursday and then take on Georgia in Valladolid on Sunday.