Alejandro Balde Becomes 17th Barcelona Player Selected to Represent Their Country at FIFA World Cup in Qatar

• Barcelona's Alejandro Balde has been called up to represent Spain at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar
• Balde was selected for Spain after Valencia defender José Luis Gayà suffered a bad ankle injury
• Barcelona now have 17 players who will represent their various countries at the Word Cup tournament

Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde is going to the World Cup in Qatar.

The 19-year-old is yet to make his debut for the Spanish national team but will be able to do so at the World Cup.

Barcelona’s website confirmed that Balde was away with the u/21 squad when he received the news.

He becomes the eighth Barcelona player representing Spain at the global showpiece, joining Eric García, Jordi Alba, Pedri, Gavi, Sergio Busquets, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati. He also becomes the 17th Barca player to be called up to represent their country in Qatar.

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Spanish coach Luis Enrique called up Balde after Valencia’s José Luis Gayà had to withdraw due to injury.

The Washington Post reported that Gayà left practice after he sprained his right ankle during the team’s final warm-up before the tournament began. It was reported that Gayà sustained a lateral sprain. Spain are waiting for MRI results to determine how bad the injury is.

Balde’s reaction

The youngster, who has played for Spain at the youth level, took to social media to express his happiness at being selected for his country. He also sent well wishes to Gayà on his recovery.

Spain opens their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica on November 23.

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Qatar 2022 is now upon us, providing a chance for the greatest players in the modern game to strut their stuff in front of the watching world.

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Beyond the Messis and the Ronaldos, fans will be positively salivating at the prospect of watching Kylian Mbappe, Kevin de Bruyne, Neymar, Robert Lewandowski and many others in action.

However, despite the glut of talent on show, spare a thought for those teams who failed to qualify, particularly the stars who will miss out on all the fun and games at the tournament.