Recently, there has been disappointment for Toti Gomes and Matheus Cunha as they missed out on international call-ups – and now, another Wolves player has missed out for his country.
Club football has now wrapped up in most places and many players are now jetting off on their holidays.
But for some, the football continues with big international tournaments taking place in the coming weeks.
Euro 2024 is just around the corner, as is the Copa America, and many players have now been called up by their nations, either into confirmed final squads or preliminary ones that will later be trimmed down.
Last week, there was joy for Wolves trio Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo and Pedro Neto, as they all made Portugal’s Euro 2024 squad.
But there was sadly no place for Toti Gomes, despite Roberto Martinez being a big fan of the player. Martinez explained that Toti was unlucky to miss out being the sixth centre-back option.
Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha also did not get called up to the Brazil squad for the Copa America by Dorival Junior recently.
It was a shame for them, and now, another Wolves player has missed out on selection for his country…
Wolves star Pablo Sarabia overlooked as provisional Spain squad is announced for Euro 2024
The Spain squad was announced on Monday morning and sadly, there was no place for Wolves forward Pablo Sarabia.
Sarabia had been called up for Spain’s last squad back in March, and he made a 70-minute appearance in a 1-0 defeat to Colombia, before being an unused substitute against Brazil.
The £90,000-a-week ace had been hoping to go to the Euros this summer.
But manager Luis de la Fuente has overlooked the 32-year-old Wolves man. He has instead selected the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Ayoze Perez and Nico Williams.
It is a provisional squad that will be trimmed, but Sarabia will now not have the chance to add to his 29 caps. Being 32, the likelihood is that he will now not have another chance to go to another international tournament.
He’ll be 34 for the next World Cup and will have to be in seriously amazing form if he is to be called up ahead of younger players.
A shame for Sarabia
So that’s Sarabia following in the footsteps of Toti and Cunha in narrowly missing out for his country ahead of a major tournament – and it’s a shame for the player.
Sarabia played his part in a good season for Wolves, contributing four goals and 10 assists in 36 appearances for the club across all competitions.
He’s got a decent record at international level, scoring nine goals and making three assists across his 29 caps, so he’s shown his pedigree in the past.
Ultimately, Spain do have a number of talented young forwards in the picture at the moment, and clearly de la Fuente sees more value in taking them this summer than the experienced Wolves man.
Sarabia had a really solid middle of the season for Wanderers, and he was actually one of the Premier League’s most creative stars in 2023/24. But ultimately, his form dipped over the last couple of months of the season and that may well have cost him a place in the squad.