Wonderkid Pedri ready to lead young Spain

Barcelona midfielder Pedri will turn 20 years old two days before Spain face Germany in one of the most anticipated games of the World Cup group stage.

The midfielder could be highly influential against the four-time world champions as both nations are expected to finish in the top two of Group E, the so called the group of death, with Japan and Costa Rica as the underdogs.

Pedri was a key part of Spain's run to the semi-finals of the European Championship last year and, along with his performances for his club, won both the 2021 Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best player under the age of 21.

"Pedri is a unique player. I have never seen anything like it, not even (Andres) Iniesta at the same age," Spain manager Luis Enrique said after the Euro 2020 semi-final against eventual champions Italy, having lost in a penalty shootout.

"Have you seen the Euro that Pedri has done? I have not seen any 18-year-old player in any competition do the same.

"How he has performed, how he occupies the spaces, his personality... I have never seen anything like it. It is something out of all logic."

Luis Enrique has been enamoured with Pedri's pace, positional intelligence and supreme technical ability, a classic trademark of the famed Barcelona La Masia academy where players like Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Lionel Messi were moulded.

However, Pedri's time in Barcelona has been relatively short. Born in Tegueste, a small town in Tenerife, in November 2002, Pedri moved from Las Palmas to Barca a little more than two years ago, in July 2020, for five million euros ($4.92 million).

Before having his breakout season in his first year with Barca in 2020-21, he had already become the youngest player to score for Las Palmas in the Spanish second division at 16-years-old.

His first season at Barcelona was so outstanding that Pedri played 73 games in all competitions for his club and Spain. Only a few weeks after the Euros, Pedri went to Japan and helped his country to win the Olympic silver medal, losing the final 2-1 in extra time against Brazil.

PHOTO: REUTERS

SPAIN READY TO RISE FROM THE SHADOWS OF CLASS OF 2010

Twelve years after Spain's golden generation won their nation's first World Cup but failed dismally in their next two tournament outings, Luis Enrique's side look to have finally re-established themselves as title contenders.

That is thanks to a young and talented core who are rising to a level where they are ready to try and emulate the 2010 winning team.

Under the guidance of former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, Spain reached the European Championship semi-final and Nations League final last year with a team just over 25 in their average age.

After winning the Champions League, LaLiga and Copa del Rey treble with Barca and taking a sabbatical, Luis Enrique took charge of a team in disarray, following the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, when Spain were eliminated in the last 16 by the host nation.

The coach had the task of transforming a team full of veterans like Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique and Iker Casillas, who helped Spain win two Euros and Spain's first World Cup, but were past their prime.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Luis Enrique took his mission to the extreme and pressed the reset button, handing responsibility to a group of young and inexperienced players.

His biggest bet was to go all in with Barcelona's teenagers Ansu Fati, Pedri and Gavi, who were given an almost immediate opportunity with their national team right after they broke through for their club.

Fati debuted for Spain in 2020 at 17 years old and in his second game became the youngest player to scored for the national team, breaking a record held since 1925 by Juan Errazquien.

Pedri followed Fati and immediately became a key part of Spain's run to the semi-finals of the Euros last year, winning both the 2021 Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best player under the age of 21.

Than it was Gavi, who became the youngest to play for Spain in November 2021, two months after his 17th birthday. A few months later, he scored for the first time to break Fati's record.

He helped Spain reach the Nations League final in 2021 and, after beating Portugal to qualify for the final four once again, followed in the steps of Pedri and also won the Kopa Trophy and Golden Boy award.

"Brave are those kids who go out there so young and represent their country with such quality and personality, not me," Luis Enrique told a news conference earlier this year.

"What I am is lucky to have in my disposal so many great players."

Pedri and Gavi are the spine of the team but Fati is still a cause for concern as he is still fighting his way back from four surgeries to repair an injury to his left knee, suffered in November 2020.

Supported by the experience of veterans Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Morata, Spain arrive in Qatar as one of the most promising teams.

SPAIN AT THE WORLD CUP

Following is a statbox on Spain at the World Cup.
FIFA Ranking: 7
Odds: 8-1

Previous tournaments:

Spain made their World Cup debut in Italy in 1934 and have appeared in every tournament from 1978. They won the trophy in 2010 to join seven other nations that have won at least one title along with Brazil (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (2), France (2), Uruguay (2) and England (1). Since lifting the trophy, they were knocked out in the group stage in 2014 and in the last-16 in 2018.

How they qualified:

Spain had to wait until their last group game to seal their World Cup qualification, winning 1-0 at home against Sweden to finish top of Group B on 19 points, four ahead of the Swedes in second place in a group that also included Greece, Georgia and Kosovo.

Form guide:

After reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals, losing to eventual champions Italy in a penalty shootout, and losing the Nations League final to France three months later, Spain beat Portugal 1-0 to qualify for the Nations League final four for the second consecutive year.