Spain´s strong bond will be key asset at Euro 2024, says Pedri

Barcelona midfielder Pedri believes a strong bond between Spain’s players will be their greatest asset as they aim to secure a fourth European crown.

The La Masia graduate will feature in his third international competition for his nation, having become the youngest Spanish player to feature at the European Championships in 2021 at 18 years, six months and 18 days, breaking Miguel Tendillo’s previous record.

Pedri was named the young player of the tournament three years ago, and new head coach Luis de la Fuente has opted to favour youth rather than experience at Euro 2024.

De la Fuente named his 26-man squad, with 11 of the players registered having only 10 or fewer caps, and only Alvaro Morata and Jesus Navas have managed over 50 appearances for their country.

However, Pedri believes that despite inexperience on the international stage, La Roja have several leaders in the dressing room to help lead them to glory in Germany.

“I think that these last few days we have talked about it, that the greatest asset we have is that we are a team, we are a family both on and off the field,” he said.

“The leader is the team as a whole. There are many players that are captains that help us a lot, they act as leaders, but I think the big difference with all the teams is that we are a team and there is no leader who stands out from the rest.”

Spain concluded their preparations for the tournament with an emphatic 5-1 win over Northern Ireland in Mallorca, with Pedri scoring twice in the first half.

Noche muy feliz! Siempre es especial marcar, y más si son los primeros goles con @SEFutbol Gracias Palma por tanto cariño. Con más ganas que nunca de #Euro2024 #VamosEspaña pic.twitter.com/Q8BN6GZt79

— Pedri González (@Pedri) June 8, 2024

La Roja kick-start their Group B campaign against Croatia on June 15 in Berlin, before taking on Italy, the defending champions, and Albania.

“It’s important to get off to a good start. But we’ve already seen that many teams have won a big tournament despite losing their first game,” Pedri said.

“You don’t have to be anxious about that game. It is clear that we are going to go out to win and we are not going to want to leave anything out on the pitch and above all, that, go out with everything.

“We are really looking forward to it, we are very young and we are really looking forward to it starting now.”