2 Barcelona superstars left out of Spain national team squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers

Barcelona duo Pedri and Alejandro Balde have been omitted from Spain's squad for their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers in November.

Pedri returned from a lengthy hamstring injury in Barca's 1-0 La Liga win over Real Sociedad on 4 November. According to GOAL, the 20-year-old midfielder, who has 18 senior caps for Spain, was on board with the exclusion.

However, Balde's exclusion seems to be because of his performances. In a recent press conference, La Roja manager Luis de la Fuente commented (h/t BarcaBlaugranes):

"I will only talk about players with physical problems. [Alejandro] Balde is another player and I encourage him to continue working harder because it is good for Spanish football."

Balde, 20, has won seven caps for Spain — all of which have come in the last 12 months. He also represented them at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he made four appearances before his team's elimination against Morocco in the last 16.

Bayer Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo and Valencia's Jose Gaya seem to be Spain's options at left-back for their qualifiers against Cyprus (16 November) and Georgia (19 November).

Here is Spain's full squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers in November:

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon, David Raya, Alex Remiro

Defenders: Grimaldo, Dani Carvajal, Jesus Navas, Robin Le Normand, David Garcia, Jose Gaya, Inigo Martinez, Pau Torres

Midfielders: Rodri, Gavi, Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz, Rodrigo Riquelme, Oihan Sancet, Aleix García, Martin Zubimendi

Attackers: Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Joselu, Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata, Mikel Oyarzabal

With 15 points from six matches in Group A, Spain have already qualified for the 2024 UEFA Euros in Germany.

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Barcelona star gives verdict on defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk

Barcelona lost 1-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in their UEFA Champions League group-stage encounter in Hamburg on 7 November.

Danylo Sikan's headed goal five minutes from the half-time whistle proved to be the only goal of the game. Speaking after Barca's defeat, Oriol Romeu said, via the club's official website:

"This is a difficult moment and we're not playing our best football. We need to be self-critical. We found it hard to create chances tonight, and we weren't sharp in front of goal. And that encouraged our opponent.

"That was a tough defeat. We really wanted to seal qualification today and we didn't do it. All we can do is keep working hard to improve and allow fewer chances to our opponents. We need to look for solutions."

Barcelona kept 68% of the ball against Shakhtar but managed just one shot on target. Despite the defeat, Xavi Hernandez's men lead Group H with nine points to their name from four matches, leading Porto on H2H result.