Luis Enrique was thrilled with his Spain squad as they bowed out of the European Championship with a semi-final shootout defeat to Italy.
Spain had an awful start to the tournament as a positive Covid-19 test for Sergio Busquets left the whole squad isolating and the Under-21s summoned for a warmup game, and they struggled for rhythm in their opening group games. However, a 5-0 win over Slovakia kickstarted them into life and they ended the competition on a high by giving an impressive Italy side an almighty scare before ultimately falling short on penalties.
Enrique utilised three Manchester City players in Aymeric Laporte, Ferran Torres, and Rodri, as well as former teammate Eric Garcia who has joined Barcelona this summer on a free transfer.
The City trio were all involved, with Torres and Laporte starting the semi-final game and Rodri coming off the bench. And the three Blues can all be confident that they will be involved at the World Cup next winter if they maintain their form at club level after impressing Enrique through this tournament.
"The only thing that I've stuck to is that I've always picked the players that I thought were in the best shape for the job," the coach said after the game.
"The players know that if their level drops or if a player emerges who is doing better then I will make changes accordingly. I think that's good competition for the squad. I'm not saying that this is the squad for the World Cup; it would be great if it was. I'd like to go to the World Cup with a team that is as united and with as much potential as this one - but you can never tell the future."
