Marcos Alonso earns Spain recall for UEFA Nations League final four

The “final four” of the UEFA Nations League is set to take place as part of the upcoming international break. The Nations League is that biennial UEFA thing wherein they’re trying to make friendlies a bit more meaningful. This is the second ever, with Portugal beating the Netherlands two years ago in the first one. (England were in the final four then as well, but lost to the Dutch.)

This year’s final four features Spain, France, Italy, and Belgium, which means plenty of Chelsea representation in the games that will take place in Milan and Turin.

And there’s a welcome surprise, too, with Spain calling up Marcos Alonso after a three-year absence. The 30-year-old has only three caps to his name, but could add to it for the first time since playing against England in October 2018. Alonso has been in excellent form, mostly keeping Ben Chilwell out of the Chelsea side, and it’s nice to see him rewarded for that. Alonso’s joined by César Azpilicueta, who’s become a bit of a regular for Luis Enrique.

Spain will play Italy in the first semifinal on Wednesday, in Milan. The European Champions have called up Jorginho and Emerson, as usual.

The other semifinal, on Thursday in Turin, will feature Romelu Lukaku and perhaps Michy Batshuayi, as Belgium take on France. No Chelsea players in the France squad for the first time in a long time, with N’Golo Kanté in isolation currently. Ex-Chelsea boys Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Thibaut Courtois are of course there for Belgium, but France did not call either Olivier Giroud or Kurt Zouma.

You can check out all the squads in full here.