Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Spanish-Malian midfielder of Wolverhampton Adama Traore has expressed his loyalty to Spain at the expense of Mali.
By Oumar Dembele
The player made the decision after a long period of hesitation, choosing to represent La Roja (Spanish national football squad) over Mali’s Eagles.
During the current international window, Traore was called up by both by his country of birth and Mali from where his parents hailed.
But the muscular 24-year-old player was seen at the start of the Spanish squad’s training camp ahead of Wednesday evening’s friendly against Portugal.
Shortly after his arrival, Traore posed with a jersey of the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European champions.
He then posted a photo on his Twitter page where he said he was “happy to have the opportunity to return” with the Spanish side.
He had responded to his last call-up in September, but had been forced to return to his English club after testing positive for Covid-19.
Also at a previous camp with La Roja under Manager Roberto Moreno, he had missed training due to an injury.
In front of all these misadventures, the coach of the Eagles, Mohamed Magassouba had hoped for a change of heart from the tricky winger.
He has in fact called him up for Mali’s friendly matches against Ghana (October 9) and Iran (October 13).
However, Traore preferred to respond to Luis Enrique’s call-up ending the speculation.
“I really want to see him with a Spain jersey. Regarding the call he received from Mali, it is up to him to decide,” the Iberian technician said.
“To my knowledge, he wants to play for us, but it is his decision and we will always respect the decisions of players on these matters,” he added.
A string of remarkable performances with Wolves last year, the former FC Barcelona player should therefore be ready to take to the field for La Roja in the next three games.
They onclude the European League of Nations games against Switzerland on October 10 and Ukraine three days later.
However, Traore will no longer be able to switch sides, as Spanish-Moroccan Munir El Haddadi did, if he takes part in any one of those two qualifiers for Euro 2021.
At its annual congress held last month, FIFA amended, following a proposal from the Moroccan Football Federation, the rule formerly providing that players who play a match at a senior international level cannot play for another country thereafter.
Now, footballers can switch sides if they have not played more than three matches at senior level, with all games having to take place before the player reaches the age of 21.
In addition, appearances in matches in the World Cup finals or continental competitions, such as the Africa Cup of Nations, would prohibit a change in eligibility, but not appearances in a tournament like the League of Nations or AfCON qualifiers.
ODL/cgd/fss/as/APA