La Roja have left for Japan, where they’ll contest this summer’s Olympic Games; they were supposed to fly yesterday only for a mechanical problem to delay their departure. The squad left Alicante Airport at 10:45 and will stop off in Tashkent, Uzbekistan at about 16:45. They’ll land in Kansai, Japan at 02:00.
🇪🇸 ÚLTIMA HORA | La @SeFutbol Olímpica pone rumbo a Japón para los @JuegosOlimpicos
🛫 Despegue: Aeropuerto de Alicante (10:45h)
⛽️ Parada técnica: Tashkent, Uzbekistán (16:45h)
🛬 Llegada: Kansai, Japón (2:00h)❌ Ayer cancelaron el vuelo por un problema mecánico #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/fkrSglewW9
— Luis Basteiro (@LuisBasteiro) July 13, 2021
Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s U21 coach as well as their man in the dugout for the Olympic Games, named a 22-man squad that included six players from Spain’s Euro 2020 campaign, where Luis Enrique’s men reached the semi-final only to lose to eventual winners Italy in a penalty shootout.
The six are Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon, Barcelona’s Eric Garcia and Pedri, Villarreal’s Pau Torres, Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal and Leipzig’s Dani Olmo. All eyes will undoubtedly be on Pedri, the teenager who’s raised his profile significantly over the summer. The boy from the Canaries was Spain’s best player, winning young player of the tournament and astounding all with his maturity, elegance and ability to perform under pressure.