Spanish national team boss Vicente del Bosque has included Barcelona´s Thiago in his squad for the friendly with Italy in Bari on August 10.
It is the first time the youngster has been selected but his inclusion does not prevent him playing for Brazil, for whom he qualifies through his father Mazinho, a World Cup winner with the South Americans in 1994. Thiago has been strongly linked with a call-up to the Brazilian squad and the Italy friendly is not binding as far as qualification goes, so del Bosque would need to play him in an official competition fixture. The next such game is against Liechtenstein on September 6 in a European Championship qualifier, and as the 20-year-old has repeatedly stated his desire to play for Spain it could be the perfect opportunity to select him in the starting line-up.
Otherwise, the squad is pretty much as one would have expected apart from in defence where Carlos Puyol and Joan Capdevila are both out injured. In midfield Santi Cazorla becomes the first M
