BARCELONA: Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas feels “hurt” by Luis Enrique not picking him for the Spanish national team, he told Cadena SER radio station on Tuesday.
The forward has five goals this season in La Liga and is behind only Real Betis’s Borja Iglesias, with six, and top scorer Robert Lewandowski, on eight.
Iglesias was given his first call-up by Luis Enrique for the upcoming Nations League clashes with Switzerland and Portugal, along with Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, with Aspas’s chances of going to the World Cup in Qatar now negligible.
“It hurts not to go with the national team,” he said on the show El Larguero. “I’m stubborn and I will fight to the end to go. That prize is around the corner and I will do all I can (to get it).”
Aspas finished as the top scorer of Spanish nationality in four of the last six seasons, including the 2021-22 campaign, when he netted 18 league goals.
“I finished the last season playing well, it hurts that he didn’t call me up,” added Aspas. “I have never had any problems with the coach and if there was, he would have told me, because he speaks his mind.”
Aspas, 35, has not played for Spain since 2019 and has a total of six goals in 18 appearances for his country, the last of them coming against Morocco in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Aspas ‘hurt’ by Spain snub ahead of World Cup
https://arab.news/z8ba2
Aspas ‘hurt’ by Spain snub ahead of World Cup
- The forward has five goals this season in La Liga
- "It hurts not to go with the national team," he said
Kuwait welcomes its new PFL MENA champion
- Mohammad Alaqraa, 25, hailed on return home after welterweight title win over Badreddine Diani in Alkhobar
DUBAI: On Dec.15 Mohammad Alaqraa touched down at Kuwait International Airport carrying something he had been chasing for years: the PFL MENA welterweight championship belt.
His arrival came just 10 days after a unanimous decision victory over Morocco’s Badreddine Diani at Dhahran Expo in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia. It marked a significant milestone for the Kuwaiti fighter and the combat sports landscape in the Middle East.
Greeted at the airport by his father, brother, excited fans and media representatives, Alaqraa spoke about his plans.
“It’s been a long journey, thanks to everyone that came to the airport and past events. Just like I promised I’ll get the MENA championship, my goal is to raise Kuwait’s name in this sport (and) now I promise next time I’ll come back with a world title,” he said.
Alaqraa’s arrival became an impromptu celebration. Fans had phone cameras ready for selfies and videos as he emerged holding his belt.
The championship fight against Diani was a full five-round affair that showcased Alaqraa’s growth. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in his favor. Alaqraa had established control through pressure wrestling, fence work, and a steady jab.
The win was sweet after losing by referee’s stoppage to Omar El-Dafrawy in the 2024 PFL MENA Finals.
Alaqraa defeated Omar Hussein and Ayman Galal en route to the 2025 finals, with his semifinal victory over Galal ending in just 21 seconds with an oblique kick, the fastest finish in PFL MENA history.
At 25 years old, Alaqraa now holds a 10-1 record in MMA. His background encompasses multiple martial arts disciplines developed since childhood. He holds a judo black belt and finished first in an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournament before turning professional in 2021.
Since leaving Kuwait at 17 to pursue MMA, Alaqraa has trained at American Kickboxing Academy under head coach Javier Mendez, the gym that has produced champions including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
Alaqraa graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in industrial systems engineering while developing his fighting career.
