Mali call up Adama Traoré, who is in Luis Enrique's preliminary list for Spain
Mali's Football Federation have called up the Wolves winger but the RFEF are hopeful that he will play for Spain and consider it a manoeuvre by the Africans.
Mali's Football Federation (FMF) is putting pressure on Adama Traoré to justify his decision to play for Spain, who he received several call-ups but for one reason or another, has yet to make his debut. Traoré has been included in Luis Enrique's preliminary squad list for Spain's friendly meeting with Portugal and the Nations League games against Switzerland and Ukraine. The RFEF consider that Mali are pulling a manoeuvre by calling up the Wolves winger when he is set to gain his first cap for Spain.
The player has stated that his intention has always been to represent Spain. Apart from playing for Spain at youth level, Adama has attended two training camps with La Roja but bad fortune stopped him from making his first senior appearance. He was first called up in November 2019 for Spain's Euro 2020 qualifiers against Malta and Romania but had to withdraw from the squad after suffering a muscular injury. He was called again earlier this month for Nations League games against Germany and Ukraine but missed the first match after testing positive for coronavirus in England. A second PCR returned negative and he immediately flew out to join up with Luis Enrique's squad. However, under UEFA protocol, he would not have been able to play the second game so it was agreed that he should quit the Spain camp and return to the UK.
Mali call up Adama and Doucouré
While Adama waits to make his first full international appearance with Spain, the FMF are trying to put pressure on him to commit to Mali. Technically, he is still able to represent Mali but his dream is to play for Spain. Diario AS understands, that the move is a common 'modus operandi' used by the FMF with players who are eligible to play for other countries. They have employed the same methods with Everton's Abdoulaye Doucouré, who has represented France at every youth level but has yet to make his debut with the senior side. Doucouré has also been included in the Mali squad for games against Ghana on 9 October and Iran four days later.