MX23RW : Wednesday, March 12 17:25:40| >> :120:15747:15747:

Barcelona's Alejandro Balde replaces Jose Gaya in Spain World Cup Squad

Barcelona's Alejandro Balde replaces Jose Gaya in Spain World Cup Squad
© Reuters
Barcelona's Alejandro Balde replaces the injured Valencia defender Jose Gaya in Spain's World Cup squad.

Barcelona's Alejandro Balde has replaced Valencia's Jose Gaya in Spain's World Cup squad.

Gaya sprained his ankle in training on Wednesday and will be sidelined for around 10 days, meaning he would have missed the group stage.

According to ESPN, Luis Enrique had considered keeping Gaya in Qatar but on Friday decided to call up Balde, ahead of their opening game against Costa Rica on November 23.

Despite being a regular in Spain's youth teams, this is Balde's first senior call-up and he will challenge his club teammate Jordi Alba for the starting role at left-back.

The 19-year-old beat out another Barca teammate to make the squad in Marcos Alonso, who has played six times for Spain under Enrique, but Balde has emerged as a consistent figure in La Liga this season, starting 12 out of the 14 games under Xavi this year.

Spain get underway against Costa Rica on November 23 in Group E, before then facing Germany and Japan.

ID:499996:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect2628:
Written by
George Priestman

Click here for more stories about Alejandro Balde

Click here for more stories about Barcelona

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Jordi Alba in action for Barcelona in December 2021
Read Next:
West Ham to move for Jordi Alba?
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona26183571254657
2Real Madrid27176457263157
3Atletico MadridAtletico27168344182656
4Athletic Bilbao271310445242149
5Villarreal26128648361244
6Real BetisBetis2711883533241
7Mallorca27107102633-737
8Rayo Vallecano279992929036
9Celta Vigo27106114041-136
10Sevilla279993236-436
11Real Sociedad27104132328-534
12Getafe2789102322133
13GironaGirona2796123540-533
14Osasuna2671273237-533
15Espanyol2677122537-1228
16Valencia2769123045-1527
17Leganes2769122440-1627
18AlavesAlaves2768133040-1026
19Las PalmasLas Palmas2766153045-1524
20Real ValladolidValladolid2744191862-4416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!