Barca’s midfielder showed a lack of sharpness and necessary decisiveness in the match against Georgia in the 1/8 round. Meanwhile, Olmo made a strong impression when he came on the field to replace Pedri and even scored. That excellence will pose coach De la Fuente the problem of choosing players for the guard role behind the three strikers.

When many questioned whether Pedri could take on an important role in the Spain squad at EURO 2024 after two seasons in which he was constantly injured, coach Luis De la Fuente settled the debate. commented in an interview with Movistar+ three days before announcing the preliminary list to compete in Germany: “I am a fan of Pedri. He debuted with me in the U-21 when he was 17 years old and I always choose him when have a chance. He is the type of player who never fails.”

However, soon after, Mr. De la Fuente clarified: “That doesn’t mean he’s not very competitive.” And before the EURO 2024 quarter-finals, where La Roja will face the host team Germany, the 63-year-old captain’s statements are being closely scrutinized by experts after what Pedri has shown since the beginning of the tournament.

The victory over Georgia in the 1/8 round saw Pedri’s fading image. The 21-year-old player made two mistakes that had serious consequences. Pedri’s first mistake led to a score for the Georgia players and when the score was 1-1, in the 49th minute, a Barca player lost the ball in the middle of the field and Kvaratskhelia almost hit it. Defeated Unai Simon with a shot from distance that went wide of the post.

Three minutes after that mistake, coach De la Fuente pulled Pedri off the field. That was the first change of the Spanish captain. Replacing him was Dani Olmo, who showed that it was the correct decision by scoring a goal. With fewer minutes played than the Barcelona player (182 compared to 153), the RB Leipzig player showed more impact in attack, scoring 1 goal (Georgia) and 1 assist (Croatia).

Statistics disadvantage Pedri in the win over Georgia
Even though he played in the midfield in the match against Georgia, he was the third-fewest Spanish player to touch the ball in the Spanish national team (50 times, only more than goalkeeper Simon and captain striker Alvaro Morata) and let lost 72% of duels. With Olmo, even though this player had 38 minutes of playing time, he was the player who hit the goal the most times on the team (3 times).