Luis de la Fuente has left Pau Cubarsi and Carlos Espai out of Spain’s final 23-man squad for Saturday’s match against the Czech Republic at the Carlos Tartiere.
Spain’s squad had already been reduced to 25 players following Nico Williams’ injury, but De la Fuente chose not to call up a replacement. He has now confirmed that Cubarsi and Espai will not be involved in the match and will watch from the stands, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.
Espai’s omission is understood to be a precaution after the Real Madrid striker arrived in Oviedo on Friday evening. He had scored five goals for Spain Under-21s in their match against San Marino and is expected to join the senior team’s training sessions from Sunday.
Cubarsi has also been rested after playing the full 180 minutes during the international break. Spain’s coaching staff are managing the Barcelona defender’s workload, particularly because he has played every minute for the national team at the World Cup.
There is one change to the matchday squad, with Espanyol striker Roberto Fernandez returning after missing Spain’s previous two matches. He will wear the number 17 shirt.
Fran Garcia has been allocated number five, while Aymeric Laporte will wear number three. The number seven shirt, previously held by Nico Williams, has been given to Victor Munoz.
