Two key players of the Spanish national team will miss the next two matches. What is the reason?

With most European national championships having just kicked off, they'll soon face a brief interruption due to the upcoming international break.

The reigning European champions, Spain, are set to begin their defense of the UEFA Nations League title, which they secured last summer. They will be facing Serbia on September 5th and Switzerland on September 8th.

Spain's national team is currently in excellent form, but they will be without two key players in the upcoming matches: Álvaro Morata and Rodri.

The reason for their absence stems from their behavior following the victory in the Euro 2024 final, where they chanted "Gibraltar is Spanish." Following a complaint from the Gibraltar Football Association to UEFA, both players have been handed suspensions.

Although the Spanish Football Federation had the option to appeal the decision, they chose not to. According to Mundo Deportivo, this decision was influenced by the fact that Morata is injured and Rodri is still recovering from a previous injury. The federation concluded that an appeal would not allow the players to contribute to the team in time, and thus decided to proceed without them.