Luis Enrique convinced that Barcelona youngster can be decisive for Spain at World Cup

When Luis Enrique was announcing the Spain squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022, many Barcelona fans were waiting with bated breath to see whether Ansu Fati would be included in the list. After all, there had been plenty of doubts over his involvement due to his restricted game-time at the club this season.

But, to the joy of the player, his family and his fans, the 20-year-old was named in the 26-man Spain roster that will be in Qatar for the World Cup.

After selecting the squad, Enrique explained his rationale behind Ansu’s inclusion, stating that the hope of the starlet recovering his best form influenced his call.

Now, SPORT is reporting that the Spain manager is totally convinced that the 20-year-old will be a decisive figure for Spain at the World Cup which will kick off in four days.

La Roja have a plethora of attacking options in the squad in the form of Alvaro Morata, Marco Asensio, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo, Yeremi Pino, and Nico Williams.

And while everyone will have to pull their weight in order for Spain to go the distance, the report states that Enrique has great confidence in Fati and wants to see the Barcelona prodigy as a reference in the team.

Despite his young age, Ansu has endured several injury ordeals over the past couple of years. Having recovered this past summer, the La Masia graduate has seen his game-time being carefully regulated at the club level by manager Xavi and his coaching staff.

Even though Fati has played in all of Barcelona’s 20 matches in all competitions (700 minutes), he averages only 35 minutes per game and has started only a handful of matches.

So, there were going to be doubts over whether he would be included in the Spain squad and if he can make his chance at the big stage count.

However, Enrique seems to have total faith in the 20-year-old Barcelona prodigy, who is being termed as Spain’s ‘weapon’ at the tournament by the aforementioned report.