De la Fuente snubs Real Madrid star again

What happened?

Carlos Espí will have to wait for his Spain debut. Luis de la Fuente left him out of the 23-man squad for Tuesday's clash with Croatia in Split, despite calling him up as emergency cover for the injured Ferran Torres.

De la Fuente chose to keep Espí out of the matchday squad, so the Real Madrid forward is still waiting for his first senior appearance. He also missed the recent meeting with the Czech Republic.

Espí had caught the eye in a big way with Spain's Under-21 side, scoring five goals in the 13-0 thrashing of San Marino. That haul earned him the step up to the senior ranks while Torres recovers from injury.

Roberto Fernández remains De la Fuente's man up front. He featured against the Czech Republic, and the coach stuck with the same options against Croatia. Espí was overlooked for the second match running.

Spain's squad for the match comprised: Unai Simón, David Raya, Dean Huijsen, Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand, Sergio Pubill, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Fresneda, Alejandro Grimaldo, Fran García, Rodri, Martín Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Fermín López, Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal, Yeremy Pino, Víctor Muñoz, Baena and Roberto Fernández.

For Croatia, forward Ante Budimir returned to lead the line, while Mario Pongračić stepped into the defence to cover the absence of teammate Šmolčić.