Although football fans in the Canaries have had very little to cheer about this season, they will have been buoyed by the growing presence of players from these parts in the Spain national set-up.
Fan gloom at the current fortunes of Las Palmas and Tenerife in their respective divisions, where they have struggled all year and face relegation, has been lifted to some extent by the news that the latest squad called up by national manager Luis de la Fuente included four Canarians, the highest number for over half a century.
Pedri, who hails from Tegueste in north Tenerife, continues to star for title-chasing Barcelona, while fellow “Tinerfeño” Ayoze Pérez (ex-Newcastle United and Leicester City) is enjoying a new lease of life at Villarreal since returning to Spain. The pair, now regulars for Spain, were joined by Gran Canaria’s Yéremy Pino (also Villarreal) and Raúl Asencio – who only made his league debut with Real Madrid in November 2024 – in the squad for the recent UEFA Nations League quarter final against the Netherlands.
After training for several days with the squad, Pino and Asencio were left out of the team for the first leg of the game against the Dutch last Thursday, but Asencio made the bench for the return leg on Sunday night. Pino was naturally disappointed not to feature in either fixture but the call-up is a sign that De la Fuente sees him as part of the set-up for the immediate future, including the Nations League semifinals in June and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria.
The Canarian presence in the Spain squad was the highest since five players from these shores played against Sweden in Malmo way back in May 1968.
Pictured: the Canarian quartet at the Spain squad gathering (Spanish FA)
