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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.

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Jordi Alba in action for Barcelona in December 2021
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid33266171224984
2GironaGirona33225669402971
3Barcelona32217464372770
4Atletico MadridAtletico32194959382161
5Athletic Bilbao321610652302258
6Real Sociedad331312846351151
7Real BetisBetis32121284038248
8Valencia32138113534147
9Getafe331013104145-443
10Villarreal32119125155-442
11Osasuna32116153746-939
12AlavesAlaves33108153138-738
13Sevilla32910134145-437
14Las PalmasLas Palmas33107163041-1137
15Rayo Vallecano32713122739-1234
16Mallorca32613132638-1231
17Celta Vigo33710163750-1331
18CadizCadiz32413152245-2325
19Granada3239203361-2818
20Almeria33111213267-3514


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