Mateo calls up 15 players for Montenegro and Greece
World Cup Classification Qatar 2027: Chus Mateo has called up 15 players to compete in the fifth qualifying window against Montenegro in Podgorica (Thursday 26) and against Greece in Santiago de Compostela (Sunday 29). The list includes three World champions from 2019 and six European champions from 2022.
The national coach Chus Mateo presented this Friday at the FEB Museum in Alcobendas (Madrid) the official call-up to face two decisive matches on the road to the World Cup. Accompanied by the President of the Spanish Basketball Federation, Elisa Aguilar, Mateo has chosen a group of 15 players that combines international experience and commitment to the national team at crucial times for national basketball.
Experience and pedigree in the call-up
The core of the call-up rests on players with proven track records. Three world champions from 2019 lead the list: Willy Hernangómez (Unicaja, 88 caps), Juancho Hernangómez (Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, 119 caps) and Pierre Oriola (Kids&Us Manresa, 44 caps). They are joined by six European champions from 2022: the Hernangómez brothers themselves, Darío Brizuela (Barça, 75 caps), Jaime Fernández (La Laguna Tenerife, 47 caps), Joel Parra (Barça, 58 caps) and Jaime Pradilla (Real Madrid, 53 caps).
Mateo has opted for a balanced structure: eight players whose clubs compete in the EuroLeague and seven who participate in the Liga Endesa. This distribution reflects the coach's intention to maintain a competitive team with players of the highest European level, without neglecting the talent of the Spanish domestic competition.
Call-up structure: 15 called up and 6 invited
The official list sums up to a total of 21 players. The 15 called up are: Alberto Abalde (Real Madrid, 27 caps), Francis Alonso (Río Breogán, 11 caps), Ferran Bassas (Kids&Us Manresa, 14 caps), Darío Brizuela, Álvaro Cárdenas (Valencia Basket, 9 caps), Jaime Fernández, Juancho Hernangómez, Willy Hernangómez, Pierre Oriola, Joel Parra, Oriol Pauli (iLERNA Lleida, 18 caps), Jaime Pradilla, Álex Reyes (Asisa Joventut, 4 caps), Mario Saint-Supéry (Valencia Basket, 17 caps) and Santi Yusta (Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 31 caps).
Completing the expedition are six invited players: Héctor Alderete (La Laguna Tenerife), Carlos Alocén (Cajasiete Gran Canaria, 9 caps), Mikel Sanz (iLERNA Lleida), Yankuba Sima (Alba Berlin, 25 caps), Pablo Tamba (Kids&Us Manresa) and Adrián Torres (Asisa Joventut). This structure allows Mateo to have additional options for training and performance tracking.
Concentration schedule and matchups
The national team will begin its concentration on Monday, November 23 in Guadalajara. There, 13 players will gather: seven from the call-up (Alonso, Bassas, Fernández, Willy Hernangómez, Oriola, Paulí, and Reyes) along with the six invited players. From the group of invitees, Alocén, Sanz, and Sima will remain in the team dynamics until Santiago de Compostela, while Alderete, Tamba, and Torres will train during the stay in Guadalajara.
Brizuela, Parra, Juancho Hernangómez, Cárdenas, and Saint-Supéry will join the expedition before departing for Podgorica, available for the match against Montenegro on Thursday, November 26 at 7:00 PM. Abalde, Pradilla, and Yusta will join directly in Galicia for the game against Greece on Sunday, November 29 at 6:00 PM at the Multiusos Fontes do Sar, a venue expected to be full with very few tickets available for sale.
Leadership and statements from the coach
Willy Hernangómez will captain the group, a role that reflects his experience and the specific weight he carries in the team. Chus Mateo has justified his decisions by highlighting the extraordinary commitment of the clubs, especially those in the EuroLeague, and the players themselves. "We have had to think a lot, but I believe the commitment of the clubs and players has helped us. We thought it was the right time to make this call-up. It was the most efficient way we saw to create a competitive list of players who have represented Spain in windows and in summers, to continue making a compact and united team to achieve the best performance for national basketball," the coach explained.
Mateo added: "The guys, seeing that the situation was tight and that we needed to qualify for the World Cup, wanted to be part of it, and that says a lot about their commitment." This statement underscores the importance of these matches in the qualification for the FIBA World Cup 2027.
Elisa Aguilar, president of the Spanish Basketball Federation, expressed her pride in the collective commitment: "We are in an important moment, and that support we will get from the Fontes Do Sar pavilion, the commitment of the players and the staff, led by Chus, and those who accompany us, all those elements will bring us closer to the goal of this concentration, which is to be protagonists in world basketball."
The coaching staff completes a robust structure under Mateo's direction. The assistant coaches will be Guillermo Frutos, Paco Aurioles, and Arturo Ruiz. The medical staff for the expedition is Juanfry Abellán, with physiotherapists Samuel Castillo, José Antonio Fernández, and Tomás Richartz. Physical trainers Javi H. Bello and María Reina will complete the performance area, along with Fausto Jiménez in the analysis department. Delegates Javier Cabrerizo and David Ortega, with Carlos Jiménez as team manager, round out the organizational structure.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Mateo convoca 15 jugadores para Montenegro y Grecia