BARCELONA, Spain (AP) 鈥� Spain鈥檚 soccer team has made light of its and Argentina鈥檚 failure to find an alternative venue to play the after the original site of Qatar was made untenable by the .
Instead of playing Argentina on March 27 in Doha, Spain quickly arranged to play Serbia on the same day back home in Villarreal.
A video posted on Friday on the Spanish team’s X account includes a short sketch depicting a fictional Argentine couple bickering about the husband鈥檚 apparently harebrained idea to send an audio message to Spain coach Luis de la Fuente to ask him for tickets to see Spain vs. Serbia. The husband鈥檚 plan pays off when the coach responds positively.
鈥淥f course, count on the ticket, or rather tickets for you and your friends,鈥� De la Fuente tells the Argentine fan. 鈥淎lthough I would have liked to have seen you at a different game, I am sure this will be a great match as well.鈥�
The game between the European and South American champions was called off on Sunday because of the widening of Iran鈥檚 in retaliation to ongoing bombardments by the United States and Israel.
The two teams and European and South American soccer officials were unable to agree on an alternative venue.
South American soccer body CONMEBOL said in a statement on Sunday that Argentina鈥檚 federation (AFA) received an offer from UEFA to play the match in Italy on March 27, but the defending World Cup and Copa America champion countered that the game take place on March 31.
And hours before the video by Spain went out on Friday, the president of CONMEBOL, Alejandro Dom铆nguez, said that by not playing the game Argentina should be considered a two-time winner of the new title. The South American team also beat Italy in the first edition in 2022.
鈥淲e are two-time champions. They (Spain) didn鈥檛 even show up,鈥� Dom铆nguez said in an interview with Radio La Red, an Argentine media outlet, when asked about the cancelation of the match.
After the video of his squad list was posted on Friday, De la Fuente told reporters: 鈥淏oth myself and the Spanish federation always wanted to play (against Argentina). 鈥淯nfortunately, it wasn鈥檛 to be. That has nothing to do with the efforts of the federation and my staff.鈥�
Upon its cancellation, the Spanish federation said that it and UEFA had tried 鈥渆very possibility鈥� to play the game, either at home or at another site, to no avail.
UEFA said all other feasible alternatives it explored 鈥渦ltimately proved unacceptable to the Argentinian Football Association,” including playing it in Madrid, where there is a large Argentine community.
The option of staging the event over two legs 鈥� one in Madrid on March 27, the other in Buenos Aires before the Euros and the Copa America in 2028 鈥� was also rejected. Argentina had proposed to play the match later this year after the World Cup but Spain had no available dates.
Argentina vs. Spain would have pitted Lionel Messi against Lamine Yamal in a showcase warmup.
Also on Friday, Spain announced that it will play Egypt in a friendly on March 31 in Barcelona.
Spain started using creative videos of their coaches to announce squad lists under Luis Enrique, the current Paris Saint-Germain manager who preceded De la Fuente.
Garc铆a and Mosquera in squad for first time
Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garc铆a and Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera were included in a Spain squad for the first time.
They both helped the under-23 side win the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. Garc铆a moved to Barcelona from Espanyol this season, while Mosquera joined the Premier League leader from Valencia.
Instead of choosing which goalkeeper to drop, De la Fuente took four goalies with Garc铆a joining regular starter Unai Sim贸n, David Raya and Alex Remiro.
Osasuna winger V铆ctor Mu帽oz and Real Sociedad forward Ander Barrenetxea also made their first Spain squad.
Zubimendi and Rodri
De la Fuente included Rodri and Mart铆n Zubimendi in his squad, setting up an interesting choice.
Rodri was a pillar of the team that won the 2024 European Championship, but he is not back at top form since returning from a leg injury last season. So, it will be interesting to see if De la Fuente sticks with the in-form Zubimendi as his starter with June’s World Cup looming.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Joan Garcia (Barcelona), David Raya (Arsenal), Unai Sim贸n (Athletic Bilbao), 脕lex Remiro (Real Sociedad).
Defenders: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Pau Cubars铆 (Barcelona), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao), Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid), Cristhian Mosquera (Arsenal), Pedro Porro (Tottenham).
Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Mart铆n Zubimendi (Arsenal), Pedri (Barcelona), Pablo Fornals (Real Betis), Carlos Soler (Real Sociedad), Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Ferm铆n L贸pez (Barcelona).
Forwards: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Y茅remi Pino (Crystal Palace), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ander Barrenetxea (Real Sociedad), V铆ctor Mu帽oz (Osasuna), Alex Baena (Atletico Madrid), Borja Iglesias (Celta Vigo).
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AP writer Nayara Batschke contributed from Santiago, Chile.
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