Real Madrid midfielder Thiago Pitarch made his debut when he came off the bench in Spain U21’s 2-0 win over Japan on Friday night. Thiago played 45 minutes, while Espi played 29 minutes as a substitute as well.
Thiago was playing a lot of minutes for the Spain U19s and U20s teams before this, but was picked for the game against Japan. This meant that he made his debut for the U21s at 19 years old — quite an impressive feat for the youngster.
Neither of the two Real Madrid boys was able to score or assist,
but they put in decent shifts in their respective positions on the night.
If we had to compare, Thiago was the better player as he was just more involved in the game. He completed 18 of his 20 passes, won four of his six ground duels, and made two tackles, one interception and two recoveries. Espi, on the other hand, had only six out of seven completed passes, zero shots, and just eight touches of the ball.
Spain play Albania next, and the Madrid duo would hope for more minutes on Tuesday.
