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David De Gea reportedly left off Luis Enrique’s 55-man provisional squad for Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Manchester United’s David de Gea will not go to the Qatar World Cup later this year after reportedly being left off Spain’s 55-man provisional squad list.
Spanish coach Luis Enrique has submitted his preliminary list of players eligible to compete in the competition, from which his final 26-man squad will be chosen.
Despite the enormous squad size, United’s David de Gea has been bypassed for three other Premier League goalkeepers.
According to AS, Enrique has chosen five alternative goalkeepers from a pool of 55 options, but De Gea is not one of them.
Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao, Robert Sánchez of Brighton, and David Raya of Brentford are the three goalkeepers expected to head to Qatar.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga and Getafe’s David Soria have been named back-ups in case of injury or illness before the tournament.
The former’s participation in the squad may come as a surprise given that he has played half as many Premier League games as De Gea this season.
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The only other known players that have made Spain’s list are full-backs Alejandro Balde, Jordi Alba and Jose Gaya.
Some will be surprised by De Gea’s absence, given his extensive history with the national team, but his exclusion has been in the making for a number of years now.
He’s not been in a Spain national squad since their 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Sweden in November last year where he was an unused substitute.
And you’d have to go back to two years to find De Gea’s last start for Spain. He played the full 90 minutes as Enrique’s side lost 1-0 to Ukraine in a Nations League match in 2020.
After the game, many criticized the 31-year-old, claiming that it was his positioning that allowed Viktor Tsygankov to score the game-winning goal.
The national team may not be De Gea’s only concern in the near future with rumours suggesting Erik ten Hag is searching for a replacement for the Spaniard.
The United goalkeeper’s contract expires this summer, and it is unclear whether or not United will renew it.
The club has been linked with Bilbao’s Simon and Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who replaced De Gea in the national team.
It’s an odd situation given goalkeeper De Gea has started every game for United since ten Hag took over this summer.