When the referee blew the final whistle, confirming Spain's qualification for the World Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over brave Sweden last Sunday, the fans chanted the name of the promising player Gavi. The Spanish crowd celebrated in the Estadio La Cartuja, which holds 51,000 spectators and was sold out, as Álvaro Morata's late goal dashed Sweden's hopes of topping Group B, turning Pablo Martín Paez Gavi into a local hero in Seville.
Less than two months ago, the rising player had not started any matches for Barcelona, and now, after five weeks, he became the youngest player to wear the Spanish national team jersey at the age of 17 years and 62 days, representing a new generation for La Roja in their quest for the World Cup title in Qatar next year.
Spain's coach Luis Enrique told reporters after the victory, "Gavi was born to play football; he is a beast, and it is not normal for a player of his age to perform like that." He added, "He played an amazing match as if he were in his own backyard, showing strong character" after starting in Spain's last four matches.
Spain entered the match needing to avoid defeat to secure a spot in the World Cup, and Gavi's performance impressed his teammates, fans, and media alike, earning him the title of man of the match from critics. He touched the ball 91 times, more than any other player, won 10 out of 15 duels, boasted a passing accuracy of 92%, and succeeded in five out of eight dribbles, outpacing any other Spanish player in the qualifiers.
Luis Enrique noted, "When a coach decides to include a 17-year-old in the national team, it is because he knows what he can bring to the pitch." He remarked, "I don’t think he has ever played in front of more than 50,000 fans, and you all saw the match he played. Nobody will be surprised afterward; I repeat... he was born to play football."
