Spain Olympics 2020 men's football squad: Who's going to Tokyo?
Six of the squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 will be taking part in Tokyo
Spain are targeting success in the men’s football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics, having chosen a squad packed with talent.
Six of the players were involved at the Euros as Luis Enrique’s side reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions Italy on penalties.
Barcelona wonderkid Pedri and Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon played every minute of every game during that run.
The other four – Eric Garcia, Pau Torres, Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal – all saw plenty of action too as Spain recovered from an underwhelming start to reach the last four.
Real Sociedad’s Oyarzabal was even on the scoresheet at the end of a thrilling 5-3 win over Croatia in the second round.
The Spanish men’s football team previously claimed gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, when they beat Poland 3-2 in the final thanks to Kiko’s last-minute strike.
They then won the silver medal in Sydney eight years later, as a side featuring Xavi, Carles Puyol and Raul Tamudo lost to Cameroon on penalties.
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The current Spain team are managed by Luis de la Fuente, who has been in charge of the Under-21s since July 2018.
He led them to success in the European Championship a year later, with several of that squad heading with him to Tokyo.
De la Fuente has selected three overage players – Real Madrid pair Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio, and Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino.
Spain have been drawn in Group C alongside Argentina, Egypt and Australia, with the top two going through to the quarter-finals.
Goalkeepers: Alex Dominguez (Las Palmas), Alvaro Fernandez (Huesca), Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao)
Defenders: Eric Garcia (Barcelona), Juan Miranda (Real Betis), Oscar Mingueza (Barcelona), Oscar Gil (Espanyol), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Jesus Vallejo (Granada)
Midfielders: Pedri (Barcelona), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Marc Cucurella (Getafe), Jon Moncayola (Osasuna), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Carlos Soler (Valencia), Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad)
Forwards: Javi Puado (Espanyol), Rafa Mir (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Bryan Gil (Sevilla), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid)
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