Luis De la Fuente, the Spanish coach who has just renewed his contract with the Spanish Federation, has already made his decision.
There will be significant changes in the first call-up of the national team in 2025. It will be for the quarter-finals that Spain will play against the Netherlands on March 20 and 23. It will be a two-legged match, and the winner will advance to the semi-final.
Spain is defending its prestige as the reigning champion of the Nations League. In case of victory, it will face the semi-finals against the winner of the Croatia-France match.
Significant changes in the upcoming national team call-up
For these two commitments, Luis De la Fuente is finalizing his list of call-ups. There will be significant changes. One of them is the inclusion of the Real Madrid youth player Raúl Asencio.
Raúl Asencio's performance hasn't gone unnoticed by Luis De la Fuente. The coach values the composure he is showing in his first 15 matches played with Real Madrid's jersey.
Asencio has already played 9 LaLiga matches, 3 Champions League matches, 2 Spanish Super Cup matches, and 1 Intercontinental Cup match.
His performance has improved over time and has ended up convincing Carlo Ancelotti, who is not usually inclined to trust youth players. Asencio is now a regular at Real Madrid and on the field, nothing suggests that we are looking at a rookie.
The replacement for Carvajal at Real Madrid and the national team
Ancelotti has decided that to join Rüdiger in the center of defense, he counts on Alaba and Tchouaméni in case of emergency. But Asencio is not left out, because for him, the Italian coach has reserved the right-back position that Carvajal's injury left vacant.
The experiments with Lucas Vázquez haven't convinced the Madrid coach.
It is there, in the right-back position, where Luis De la Fuente wants to test the Real Madrid youth player. The coach considers that the Canarian defender is the future, although currently, the position belongs to Carvajal when he returns from his injury.
In a national team filled with FC Barcelona players, the presence of any Real Madrid player is noteworthy.
Real Madrid fans celebrate Raúl Asencio's progress in a team where playing is a challenge. Real Madrid aims to have the best players in the world on its roster, and it's not easy to carve out a place among such authority. But Asencio has achieved it.