MADRID (AP) — Barcelona teenager Pau Cubarsí and midfielders Marcos Llorente and Aleix García were dropped from Spain’s final 26-man squad for the European Championship on Friday.
The 17-year-old Cubarsí impressed with his club and debuted for Spain this season. García was a key force behind Girona qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, and Atletico Madrid’s versatile Llorente has been a regular for Spain.
Coach Luis de la Fuente, however, stuck with Real Betis forward Ayoze Pérez, who is with Spain for the first time, as well as 21-year-old Barcelona midfielder Fermín López.
Spain is aiming for a record-extending fourth European Championship. It is in Group B with Italy, Albania and Croatia.
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Spain:
Goalkeepers: Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Álex Remiro (Real Sociedad)
Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), Aymeric Laporte (Al-Nassr), Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad), Nacho Fernández (Real Madrid), Dani Vivian (Athletic Bilbao), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)
Midfielders: Rodrigo (Manchester City), Martín Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Fabián Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain), Pedri (Barcelona), Alex Baena (Villarreal), Fermín López (Barcelona)
Forwards: Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Dani Olmo (Leipzig), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Álvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Joselu (Real Madrid), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Ayoze Pérez (Real Betis)
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