Alejandro Balde gets late call-up for Spain

Alejandro Balde is going to Qatar. Luis Enrique has called on his services after Valencia defender Gayà had to drop out through injury. He thus becomes the eighth Barça player in the Spain squad, where he'll be joining Eric García, Jordi Alba, Pedri, Gavi, Busquets, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati.

Balde was away with the U21 squad when he heard the news, and will be going to the World Cup despite not having made his debut for his country.

World Cup record

Balde being included takes the overall Barça representation to seventeen, spread across eight different teams. This is the largest number in World Cup history from a single team. Bayern Munich and Manchester City have 16 players each in the 2022 World Cup.