He didn’t make Luis Enrique’s XI, but Adama Traore came off the bench in the 62nd minute on Wednesday evening to finally make his Spain debut.
The Wolves forward had been made to wait after injury prevented him from debuting last November and the coronavirus stood in his way last month, but he finally came on for Sergio Busquets against Portugal for his first minutes as a Spain played.
Adama has come through all levels of the national team to reach this point.His first Spain appearance came on February 23, 2012 in a friendly against Germany at Under-16 level, then coming on for Santi Denia’s side to take on a team that included Timo Werner.
His parents’ birth country, Mali, tried to tempt him to play for them, but Adama always prioritised La Roja. Traore has become the 805th player to play for Spain, and the 21st to debut since the 2018 World Cup.
Adama Traoré 💥🇪🇦 pic.twitter.com/7SpoyCF53g
— Instant Foot ⚽️ (@lnstantFoot) October 7, 2020
Luis Enrique has been keen to blood new talent, handing first international appearances to as many as eight players in his first three games back on the bench.
The 24-year-old’s career has skyrocketed in recent seasons at Wolves.Having been a promising player on the books at Barcelona, he made the move to England to join Aston Villa with a lot of expectation.
He never quite hit the heights expected of him at Villa Park, nor at Middlesbrough, but his move to Wolves changed that.With Nuno Espirito Santo he has shone in English football, dominating Premier League defences and even impressing in European competition as well.
Traore featured for Wolves as they were knocked out of last season’s Europa League against eventual winners Sevilla.
