Spanish fans have been left perplexed by the decisions of Spanish coach Luis De la Fuente against the Netherlands.
He initially drafted Raúl Asencio in his original list, which did not include Dean Huijsen. Íñigo Martínez was on that list, but he did not attend, citing an injury.
The Question Millions of Spaniards Are Asking: Asencio?
Then he drafted Huijsen to replace the Basque center-back from Barça. In the first match, Cubarsí played as a central pair with Le Normand, but the Barcelona center-back got injured, and Huijsen came in his place.
In the return match, without Cubarsí, De la Fuente kept Huijsen as Le Normand's partner in the center of the defense.
Asencio? This is the question millions of Spaniards are asking, who do not understand why the emergence of the Canary Islands center-back from Real Madrid has not been rewarded in the national team.
Two Matches Without Real Madrid Players
Additionally, it happens that the Spanish national team has played its two matches against the Netherlands without a single Real Madrid player. Is this Luis De la Fuente's strategy?
The issue confuses the Spanish fans. Everyone has seen how a center-back has emerged at Real Madrid, destined to be the Sergio Ramos of the next decade, but he is not considered in La Roja.
The topic was discussed on El Partidazo de la COPE. There it received a response from Santi Cañizares, who believes he knows the reasons for Asencio's ostracism in the two matches against the Netherlands.
"Huijsen is a fantastic center-back for playing soccer well due to his ball distribution (...) It's the closest thing to Cubarsí. That's why De la Fuente has chosen him and not Asencio...
If you want to defend, Asencio is more of a defender than Huijsen. He is the Cubarsí profile, but they are two different profiles. One is a defender, and the other is a game initiator."
Meritocracy Doesn't Work in the National Team
It can be admitted that Huijsen's ball distribution is very debatable as being better than Asencio's. What is not understood is that Le Normand is ahead of Asencio as a defense-defense.
It is clear evidence that meritocracy doesn't work in this national team. De la Fuente prefers to reward those who gave him the Euro Cup rather than bringing in the young players who are demanding a chance.
The issue is that Asencio has been drafted with the national team for a week to play two matches. He has watched them from the stands and the bench without playing a single minute.
At this point, Asencio's quality as a defender and his ability to associate with midfielders to bring the ball out controlled can't be doubted.