Marc Roca is facing one of the biggest opportunities of his career. The Real Betis Balompié midfielder has received his first call-up to Spain’s senior national team under Luis de la Fuente, seven years after sharing the adventure of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with him — a tournament Spain went on to win. It is a particularly special call-up for a player who never stopped dreaming of wearing the senior national team shirt.

“I never think about giving up, although there are times when everything looks very bleak and difficult. I always trusted that things would work out,” the midfielder explained from Spain’s training camp in Prague.

His journey, however, has not been an easy one. An ankle injury marked a difficult period in his career and forced him to undergo surgery 18 months ago.

“I made a bad decision that affected me in the following years of my career. I decided to have surgery because I was in a lot of pain in my day-to-day life, and playing football like that was extremely difficult,” Roca admitted ahead of the Czechia v Spain match, the fifth fixture in the UEFA Nations League group stage.

Now, seven years after that U21 generation, he is reunited with De la Fuente — this time in the senior team. “I believe deeply in God. He has always been with me since I was little; he helps me to be stronger and feel protected. Not everyone’s journey is the same. I am proud of the path I have taken because it has brought me here, and my family deserves to share in these moments of happiness too.”