Spain striker Moreno could make debut against Norway, Sweden

Posted October 04, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

MADRID (AP) - Gerard Moreno will have a chance to make his international debut when Spain plays at Norway and Sweden in upcoming European Championship qualifiers.

Spain coach Robert Moreno included the 27-year-old Villarreal striker in his squad on Friday. Gerard Moreno has made an excellent start to the Spanish league season, scoring six goals in seven matches.

AtlÃ©tico Madrid strikers Ãlvaro Morata and Diego Costa were both left off the squad. Moreno will join Rodrigo Moreno and Mikel Oyarzabal in attack.

Morata was left at home despite having recovered from a knee injury that had sidelined him for three matches with AtlÃ©tico.

Paco AlcÃ¡cer is unavailable because of an Achilles' tendon problem. He had scored twice in limited minutes at the end of Spain's last match, a 4-0 victory over the Faeroe Islands.

Moreno also called up 22-year-old defenders Sergio ReguilÃ³n and Pau Torres for the first time. ReguilÃ³n could start at left back with Jordi Alba and JosÃ© Gaya injured.

RaÃºl Albiol, a 34-year-old veteran with 52 international appearances, has also returned after a one-year absence. He is the fourth player from Villarreal on the squad, along with Santi Cazorla.

Spain plays Norway in Oslo on Oct. 12, and three days later visits Sweden in Solna.

Spain leads Group F with 18 points after winning all six of its matches. Sweden is second with 11 points. Norway is in fourth place behind Romania with nine.

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Spain:

Goalkeepers: David de Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Pau LÃ³pez (Roma)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Juan Bernat (Paris Saint-Germain), JesÃºs Navas (Sevilla), Sergio ReguilÃ³n (Sevilla), RaÃºl Albiol (Villarreal), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Diego Llorente (Real Sociedad), ÃÃ±igo MartÃnez (Athletic Bilbao)

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Rodrigo HernÃ¡ndez (Manchester City), FabiÃ¡n Ruiz (Napoli), Thiago AlcÃ¡ntara (Bayern Munich), SaÃºl Ã‘Ãguez (AtlÃ©tico Madrid), Dani Ceballos (Arsenal), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germain), Luis Alberto (Lazio)

Forwards: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Rodrigo Moreno (Valencia), Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Atletico Madrid's Alvaro Morata attends a training session at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. Lokomotiv Moscow will face Atletico Madrid at the Group D Champions League soccer match on Thursday, Oct. 1. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) The Associated Press

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