Euro 2020: Rising Stars – Spain’s Pedri

Spain comes into Euro 2020 with a refreshed outlook and a rather new-looking team. This new-look squad, however, struggled to get three points on the board following a draw with a stubborn Swedish side.

The likes of Sergio Ramos, Cesc Fabregas and others from the past ten years of success are no longer involved, and the squad now has more Brighton players than it does Real Madrid players.

One of the players that Spain coach Luis Enrique has a lot of faith in is 18-year-old midfielder Pedri.

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Pedri was born in Tenerife in the Canary Islands and began his career in Las Palmas’s academy. He made his debut in August of 2019 at just 16 and would go on to score later that season and become the clubs youngest ever goalscorer.

In 2020, Pedri made the big step up and joined Barcelona. In his first season at Camp Nou, he made 52 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals.

Pedri is a player that thrives on the ability to roam around the midfield area and bring players into the game, particularly in the attacking portion of the field. Often played in a midfield three, he can play in any of the three but is usually deployed on the right or left.

Many Spain fans think of him as a winger because he has pace and can create from anywhere, but this is a lot like Andres Iniesta, whose movement gave people the wrong impression of where he actually plays.

In La Liga in 2020/21, Pedri showed off his passing skills which so many rate him on, making 1.1 key passes per 90, getting 4 assists and passing at an 87.7% completion rate.

Pedri is also not afraid to get back, making 1.2 tackles per 90 and 1 interception per 90. Where Pedri struggles, is often keeping the ball in pressure situations making 2 bad controls per 90 that resulted in the opposition recovering the ball.

Nonetheless, Pedri is an exciting player who could help a new-look Spain progress in this year’s tournament. Look out for him in Group E, alongside Sweden, Poland and Slovakia.