Alvaro Odriozola Spain

Odriozola ready to replace Carvajal for Spain – and maybe join him at Real Madrid

Alvaro Odriozola is ready for Russia. The 22-year-old is one of Spain's exciting young talents and with Dani Carvajal missing through injury, he did his chances of making the starting XI against Portugal on June 15 no harm at all in Sunday's friendly against Switzerland.

Dani Carvajal is currently Spain's first-choice right-back, but the Real Madrid defender limped off in tears in the Champions League final win against Liverpool in Kiev on May 28 and may not be ready for the start of the World Cup.

Carvajal, who was also injured in the 2016 Champions League final and ended up missing Euro 2016, was relieved to discover he had avoided a similar fate this time around , with the news that he will be back earlier than expected.

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However, it remains to be seen whether he will be fit in time for Spain's opener against Portugal in Russia and against Switzerland on Sunday night, coach Julen Lopetegui decided to give another opportunity to Odriozola.

The Real Sociedad right-back impressed again, just as he had on his debut against Albania back in October, when he set up a goal for Thiago in a routine 3-0 win.

"Things have changed a lot for me in a year and a half," he said in the build-up to this game. "It has been crazy. You have to have your feet on the ground."

And asked about a possible transfer to Real Madrid, who are looking for a right-back to compete with Carvajal, he said: "My future is the Spanish national team, the day-to-day and the games at the weekend."

Odriozola has a release clause of £40 million (€46m/$53m) and although Real Sociedad are not considering his sale, he would be free to leave if a club came in with the money and he wanted to move.

Odriozola Spain Switzerland goalGetty

At the moment, however, he is clearly looking no further than the World Cup and he was one of the standout players for Spain in a 1-1 draw with Switzerland at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica.

The 22-year-old defended well and attacked with verve for a much-changed Spain side that should have won the game, and looked like doing so after his wonderful volley from outside the box gave them the lead.

Chances were missed, though, and a rare mistake from David De Gea ultimately let Switzerland back into the match, although Lopetegui did stretch his unbeaten run as coach to an impressive 19 games.

"I'm really happy personally and happy to help the team," Odriozola said afterwards. "The sensations are good. Despite the draw, we played well in both halves."

They did and the right-back was a big plus. He is there and ready to feature in Russia if Carvajal needs more time to recover and on this form, he could even end up challenging his Spain team-mate for a starting spot at Real Madrid next season. 

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