The Spanish women’s basketball coach, Miguel Méndez, announced this Tuesday the list of 16 players called up for the first preparation games for the Pre-World Cup, a triangular friendly against Italy and France in November that will mark the return to the national team of Maite Cazorla, María Conde, Laura Quevedo and Megan Gustafson, while the absences of Alba Torrens and Raquel Carrera, and the debut of Alicia Flórez, stand out.
The complete list is made up of bases Iyana Martín, Aina Ayuso, Mariona Ortiz, Maite Cazorla and Claudia Soriano; the escorts Helena Pueyo, Elena Buenavida and Alicia Flórez; the forwards Andrea Vilaró, María Conde and Laura Quevedo; the power forwards Paula Ginzo, Irati Etxarri and María Araújo; and centers Awa Fam and Megan Gustafson.
The bulk of the squad is made up of 10 players who won the silver medal last June, who are joined by the returns of Cazorla, Conde, Quevedo and Gustafson after their injuries; the return of Soriano, who made his debut with the national team in February; and the debut of Flórez. In addition, the losses of forward Alba Torrens and center Raquel Carrera, important players in the last Eurobasket, stand out.
With these 16 players, Spain will face the La Línea International Tournament, with two games against Italy on Friday, November 14 and against France on Sunday the 16th. These matches will serve as preparation for the Pre-World Cup to be held in Puerto Rico from March 11 to 17 and in which the team will face New Zealand, Senegal, the host Puerto Rico, Italy and the United States with the aim of qualifying for the World Cup in Germany in September 2026.
The Spanish coach, Miguel Méndez, commented that “it will be a very important concentration to be able to prepare for the Pre-World Cup, even though there are still a few months left.” “In March we will have little time and also the trip to Puerto Rico is long. Therefore, this week in November will be very necessary to refresh ideas and play two very good games against France and Italy. We are looking forward to meeting again with the team that represented us so well in the last Eurobasket,” concluded the Galician.