Spain leave Thiago, Ramos and de Gea out of 2022 FIFA World Cup squad, Fati added

Among the major exclusions in Spain’s 2022 FIFA World Cup squad, announced on Friday, were Sergio Ramos, Thiago Alcantara and David de Gea. Among those added, the name of Barcelona’s Ansu Fati came off as a surprise.
Fati made his international debut in 2020 and became the youngest player to score for Spain at the age of 20 in his second outing, breaking a record held since 1925 Juan Errazquien. The forward however, has been dealing with a recurring knee injury since 2020 and has had four surgeries since then.
“He was one of our last question marks. I doubted until the last minute, but I decided for him because his technical qualities are amazing and being here with us could work as a big motivation for him as he’s still working to get back to peak form,” Spain coach Luis Enrique told a news conference.
He further added, “It’s a process that he’s going through, to become the Ansu Fati that he was before the injury. Surely it could be assessed when he will recover his previous level. It is one of the things we all look for.”
When asked about the names that were left out, Enrique declined to comment. The former Barcelona boss has been accused of opting for younger players in the lineup others such as Marcos Alonso, who was also left out of the final squad for Qatar.
Manchester United number one, David de Gea was left out the national team manager in March, when he stated that he “wanted to test other goalkeepers”. Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich and current Liverpool midfielder Thiago on the other hand has been replaced the Barcelona midfield duo of Pedri and Gavi.
“Youth gives you freedom because you are not yet aware of the consequences,” Enrique said. “Yet, most of the youngsters that are with us are already in high-level teams.
“The bar that I’m setting is infinity. My goal is to compete in every game. There’s no one outside of Spain who rules out Spain as a candidate to be among the best. We are going to give war, there is no doubt,” he added.
Spain have been drawn in Group E of the World Cup alongside Costa Rica, Germany and Japan.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), Robert Sanchez (Brighton & Hove Albion), David Raya (Brentford).
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Eric Garcia (Barcelona), Hugo Guillamon (Valencia), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Jose Gaya (Valencia).
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri Hernandez (Manchester City), Gavi (Barcelona), Carlos Soler (Paris St Germain), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Pedri Gonzalez (Barcelona), Koke Resurreccion (Atletico Madrid).
Forwards: Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Yeremi Pino (Villarreal), Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Pablo Sarabia (Paris St Germain), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Ansu Fati (Barcelona) (Reporting Fernando Kallas; Editing To Davis and Ken Ferris)