Gavi will make his debut in the national team of Spain on Wednesday evening. The Barcelona midfielder, who turned 17 in August, has a starting place in the game against Italy in the semi-finals of the Nations League. He breaks an ancient record and becomes the youngest international of all time la Furia Roja. The game starts at 8.45 p.m. in Milan.
Surprisingly, Gavi was called up to Spain last week. He had only played 288 minutes in the Barcelona first team, but has impressed national coach Luis Enrique enough. He forms a midfield in Milan with Sergio Busquets and Koke. Gavi is 17 years and 62 days old, replacing Ángel Zubieta as Spain’s youngest international ever. At its debut in 1936, the Basque was 17 years and 284 days old. In the left back position, Marcos Alonso takes the place of the injured Jordi Alba.
In the repeat of the semi-finals of the summer European Championship, Italy will have to do without the injured attackers Ciro Immobile, Andrea Belotti, Gerard Moreno and Álvaro Morata. National coach Roberto Mancini opts for a vanguard with Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernardeschi. A basic place for Lorenzo Pellegrini was expected in advance, but the AS Roma midfielder starts on the bench. The Italian diaphragm consists of Marco Verratti, Jorginho and Nicolò Barella.
Italy line-up: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Bastoni, Emerson; Verratti, Jorginho, Barella; Badge, Chiesa, Bernardeschi
Spain line-up: Unai Simon; Azpilicueta, Pau Torres, Laporte, Marcos Alonso; Koke, Busquets, Gavi; Sarabia, Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres