Arsenal star David Raya hauled off at half-time as Spain boss explains decision
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has explained why he took off Arsenal's David Raya after just 45 minutes in Friday night's 1-0 defeat to Columbia.
The game marked Raya's fourth appearance for his national team and he was replaced by Real Sociedad's Alex Remiro, who made his debut, at half-time. Unai Simon has been Spain's first-choice goalkeeper since he displaced David de Gea in 2020, reports the Mirror.
De La Fuente decided to use the Colombia friendly as a chance to give some players more experience ahead of Euro 2024. Dani Vivian and Pau Cubarsi also made their debuts, while Alejandro Grimaldo, Pedro Porro, Martin Zubimendi, Alex Baena and Lamine Yamal added to their handful of caps.
The decision to replace Raya with Remiro at half-time was pre-planned, with De La Fuente explaining his decision to field a relatively inexperienced side after the game.
«We wanted them to live this experience,» he told Spanish broadcasters RTVE.
«They are important players with a great future. They still have a long career ahead of them. We learn more from defeats than from victories. We are satisfied with a lot of things. We wanted to test ourselves and continue to improve.»
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Daniel Munoz was the hero for Colombia, scoring a spectacular goal to beat Spain's goalkeeper Remiro after an amazing run from Liverpool's star player Luis Diaz. This 1-0 win marked Colombia's first ever victory over Spain and they celebrated with great joy.
Raya has enjoyed a brilliant individual season this term, becoming the Gunners' number one after arriving from Brentford in the summer.
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