Ranking 5 best U21 Spanish players based on current form
Spain have been bestowed with some of the most technically sound players in football. Since 1978, they have qualified in every FIFA World Cup edition. In FIFA's latest ranking, Spain's men's football team sits in eighth position, beaten by a very close margin by Portugal in seventh-place. Waiting for a major piece of silverware since the 2012 Euro Championship, Luis Enrique's men have given themselves a shot at winning the UEFA Nations League.
The current Spanish side have seen some young guns take to the field and absolutely own the game. They have nurtured youngsters with sound technical skills, a DNA of Spanish football that is present in various academies in the country.
Even though the measure of the talent crop is huge, we have narrowed down the following five best Under-21 Spanish stars based on their current form:
#5 Yeremi Pino
Villareal wonderkid Yeremi Pino became the youngest player to win the UEFA Europa League last season when the La Liga club defeated Manchester United on penalties. Since then, he has consistently given effective performances for the Yellow Submarines and has been on the radar of a few Premier League clubs.
Primarily a winger who can play on either side, Pino gathered interest from Barcelona, who were keen to sign him, but he chose Villarreal in favor of game time. Last season, Pino announced how special he was by scoring against Real Madrid and becoming the youngest player to score an away league goal against Los Blancos in the 21st century.
Stepover, fake then an inch-perfect cross 🔥
🇪🇸 Yeremi Pino wins Skill of the Day 👏
#UNLskills | @HisenseSports | #NationsLeague https://t.co/5TyXyrFA4c
He made his debut for La Roja by coming on for Ferran Torres against Italy in the Nations League semi-final. During those 41 minutes against the Azzurri, he created two big chances and contributed with three key passes, in addition to completing all three of his attempted dribbles.
The Villarreal winger has provided three assists and scored on one occasion in five games in La Liga this season. Pino's contract with Villareal expires in 2024. Ideally the club would want to keep him for longer, allowing them to slap a high price-tag on him for the future, with his potential having no bounds.
#4 Pedri
Around a month ago, Pedri completed his one-year anniversary with Barcelona. A year that saw the world turn its attention and watch with wide open eyes the charisma and the spectacle that Pedri is in midfield. Barcelona have really had an underwhelming start to their new campaign and their drop in form and lack of cohesiveness has affected Pedri's numbers to some extent.
He still manages to make a game all about himself by never putting a foot wrong. However, after 74 appearances in the last season for both Barcelona and La Roja, Pedri sustained an injury last month which kept him out of action for nearly two weeks. But he made a return against Benfica in the Champions League.
Alexia Putellas & Pedri have won the ALDO ROVIRA Award as the best Barcelona players of the last season. https://t.co/jIddiDqx3k
A few months ago, Luis Enrique was raving about how good Pedri is and that there is no doubt he's going to be a pillar in Spain's squad for years to come. He was the standout performer for Spain at Euro 2020 as well. He missed the game against Italy in the Nations League because Luis Enrique preferred to field a fully fit side and not risk injuries to young talents.