Santa Denia explains why Ansu Fati is not called up to the U21s

Spain U21 coach Santi Denia this morning announced the list of 27 players who will begin their preparations for the European Championship, which takes place from June 21 to July 8. Among them, two Blaugrana players: Arnau Tenas and Nico Gonzalez, on loan at Valencia; but Ansu Fati has not received the call of the coach.

"All the scenarios have been evaluated with the sporting direction. Ansu Fati has not played a game for the U21s since November 2019. We consider that he is in the dynamic of the senior team. That's how we have agreed with all parties," Denia explained to the media, the same being the case for Yeremy Pino and Nico Williams.

Denia acknowledged that he feels no pressure, that it is "another challenge" given that "there are four generations in the squad and it is another motivation" because "it is very important for the Federation to win another title and we are going with that in mind".

Regarding the Spanish national team's options during the European Championship, the coach commented: "The ultimate goal is to be European champions. We are the Spanish national team and we want to win. We're going to take it step by step and only excellence is going to be enough. Doing things very well will not be enough. Having to choose 27 has been very difficult, we have left out some very good people.