Luis Enrique has sent a strong message to Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati regarding his chances of representing Spain at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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The 19-year-old was among a list of high-profile players who were left out of Enrique's most recent Spain squad following injuries that have hampered his playing time in Catalonia.
Fati, who was born in Guinea-Bissau, made his debut for La Furia Roja in 2020 and scored on just his second appearance days later in a 4-0 win over Ukraine.
After two more international appearances that year, the Barcelona youth product has not featured for his country of choice since, although he was called up for duty during Spain's UEFA Nations League campaign earlier this year.
National team boss Enrique has now stated that Fati needs to get game time at the Blaugrana before the World Cup gets underway, and also made mention of Aymeric Laporte and Mikel Oyarzabal.
"I need to see Ansu Fati play for Barca, Laporte is already recovered and training with his team, and Oyarzabal I prefer not to say anything," he said, according to Barca Universal.
"Let's see how it evolves. But it is true that it will be a difficult list and that not everyone I would like will be able to enter.
"Now the 26 can be on the bench, but it is something that can affect the health of the group. It can be a list of 26 or 24. I have not decided."
Reports suggest that Enrique could name his World Cup squad on 10 or 11 November, less than two weeks before the tournament in Qatar begins.
Fati has recorded two goals and two assists in eight matches across all competitions for Barcelona so far this season.
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