Spain leave Pau Cubarsi and Carlos Espi out of Czech Republic match squad

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has left Pau Cubarsi and Carlos Espi out of his final 23-man squad for Saturday’s meeting with the Czech Republic at the Carlos Tartiere stadium.

The decision follows the reduction of Spain’s squad to 25 players after Nico Williams suffered an injury. De la Fuente opted not to call up a replacement and has now confirmed that both Cubarsi and Espi will watch the match from the stands, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

Espi’s omission is understood to be related to his recent workload. The Real Madrid forward arrived in Oviedo on Friday evening after scoring five goals for Spain Under-21s in their match against San Marino.

He is due to join the senior team’s training sessions on Sunday.

Cubarsi has also been given a rest after playing the full 180 minutes during the current international break. Spain’s coaching staff are managing the Barcelona defender’s appearances carefully, particularly because he has not missed a minute of Spain’s matches at the World Cup.

Roberto Fernandez has returned to the Spain squad after being absent for the previous two matches. The Espanyol forward will wear the number 17 shirt.

There have also been several changes to the squad numbers. Fran Garcia has been allocated number five, while Robin Le Normand will wear number three.

The number seven shirt, previously held by Nico Williams, has been handed to Victor Munoz.