SECRET WEAPON
Spain bring in Barcelona star as ‘27th member of Euro 2024 squad’ hours before crunch final vs England
The Spain boss has explained the decision
SPAIN have brought in a 27th member of their squad ahead of the Euro 2024 final, according to reports.
The three-time winners take on England at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday night.
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Ahead of the match, another player has joined up with the players at their team hotel.
Barcelona midfielder Gavi arrived on Sunday morning in a bid to boost team morale.
The 19-year-old was welcomed by manager Luis de la Fuente and Spanish FA president Pedro Rocha.
Footage shared to social media shows Gavi arriving at the team hotel, where he was greeted by both De la Fuente and Rocha.
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Gavi is currently sidelined with a torn cruciate ligament injury which he suffered in their final qualifier against Georgia in November.
The injury ruled the teenager out of Euro 2024, although four of his Barca team-mates made the squad.
Standout performer Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Pedri and Fermin Lopez all made De la Fuente's final 26-man squad.
Gavi has scored five goals in 27 caps for Spain since making his debut aged 17 in 2021.
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He was a part of their squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where La Roja made the last 16.
The youngster played in all four matches and scored in their 7-0 group stage win over Costa Rica.
Inside the Spain camp as England face even tougher test than France did
England vs Spain record
England have played Spain 27 times in total - here is a look at every result...
- May 1929, Spain 4-3 England - International Friendly (L)
- December 1931, England 7-1 Spain - International Friendly (W)
- July 1950, Spain 1-0 England - World Cup (L)
- May 1955, Spain 1-1 England - International Friendly (D)
- November 1955, England 4-1 Spain - International Friendly (W)
- May 1960, Spain 3-0 England - International Friendly (L)
- October 1960, England 4-2 Spain - International Friendly (W)
- December 1965, Spain 0-2 England - International Friendly (W)
- May 1967, England 2-0 Spain - International Friendly (W)
- April 1968, England 1-0 Spain - European Championship (W)
- May 1968, Spain 1-2 England - European Championship (W)
- March 1980, Spain 0-2 England - International Friendly (W)
- June 1980, England 2-1 Spain - European Championship (W)
- March 1981, England 1-2 Spain - International Friendly (L)
- July 1982, Spain 0-0 England - World Cup (D)
- February 1987, Spain 2-4 England - International Friendly (W)
- September 1992, Spain 1-0 England - International Friendly (L)
- June 1996, England 0(4)-(2)0 Spain - European Championship (W)
- February 2001, England 3-0 Spain - International Friendly (W)
- November 2004, Spain 1-0 England - International Friendly (L)
- February 2007, England 0-1 Spain - International Friendly (L)
- February 2009, Spain 2-0 England - International Friendly (L)
- November 2011, England 1-0 Spain - International Friendly (W)
- November 2015, Spain 2-0 England - International Friendly (L)
- November 2016, England 2-2 Spain - International Friendly (D)
- September 2018, England 1-2 Spain - Nations League (L)
- October 2018, Spain 2-3 England - Nations League (W)
Overall, England have won 14, drawn three and lost 10 matches against Spain.
Gavi was also a member of Spain's Nations League-winning side last year.
At club level, he has made 111 appearances for Barcelona, scoring seven goals and adding 14 assists.
Having joined the club's academy from Real Betis aged 10, he made his senior debut just three weeks after turning 17.
Inside the baffling, brilliant story of Lamine Yamal – from being bathed by Messi to doing homework while taking Euros by storm
LAMINE YAMAL has confirmed his status as football's next superstar at Euro 2024 - but has only been playing 11-a-side games for four years, write Jack Rosser.
Spain's incredible 16-year-old bent home the goal of the tournament so far against France as La Roja sealed the spot in the final.
But his first five years in Barcelona's academy were spent playing seven-a-side football, up until the age of 12 in 2020 when he finally got a crack at 11-a-side games.
Yamal's story is baffling, brilliant and barely believable in equal measure.
He is a boy born to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea, who turns 17 tomorrow and was cradled by footballing royalty at just six months old.
Staggering pictures of Yamal as a baby being held and bathed by Messi, taken for a Barcelona charity calendar 16 years ago, resurfaced this week.
He did not restrict his brushes with greatness to Barcelona either, with footage of Yamal as an academy player walking as a mascot with Spain and Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos at an El Clasico in 2016.
There is a touch of fate about this gem, Spain's "little MVP", as team-mate Nico Williams has dubbed him.
Yamal has been doing homework in his spare time and received exam results during the tournament. He passed, obviously.
Now he’s the youngest ever goalscorer at the Euros, also becoming the youngest player to ever start a major semi-final - claiming that title from Pele.
But it’s Yamal’s humble approach on and off the pitch that most impresses everyone he meets.
And France star Adrien Rabiot probably felt quite embarrassed as he boarded his plane back home from Germany.
He had tried to intimidate Yamal ahead of their semi-final clash – telling Yamal he “needs to do more.”
Was this good enough, then? Yamal responded with a goal for the ages and a man of the match performance.
A season which started with a pre-season game against Tottenham where Yamal excelled but was overshadowed by Oliver Skipp scoring a brace will end on the biggest stage European football has to offer on Sunday.
From being outshone by Skipp to eclipsing Pele's records is not a bad year's work - just imagine what he will do when he grows up.
Read all about the incredible rise of Lamine Yamal in full...
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