Pedri: ‘I wanted to be here’

The first goal is always special, even more so when you are wearing your national team’s shirt. In his 20th game in red, Pedri celebrated his first international goal in style, after his fizzing shot from outside the area leveled the scores against Northern Ireland in Son Moix. It was the prelude to a great celebration both for the Canary Islander, as shortly after he scored his second goal of the match, and the team, who ended up scoring a hatful and now head into the Euros with great confidence..

‘He actually knows how to shoot, he actually knows how to shoot,’ his team-mates teased him in the dressing room of the Balearic stadium. Pedri responded with a smile. "The gaffer tells me to shoot more. The other day Unai gave me a bit of a telling off in training, telling me to shoot...", commented the midfielder at the end of the match. "I'm very happy about those two goals, the team's victory and scoring a brace for the first time.

It hasn't been an easy few months for Pedri, who hasn't played for the national team since the World Cup in Qatar due to various physical problems. "It's been a long time since I've been here, I wanted to be here, to enjoy being with the national team. It's a pleasure every time I come and I've worked hard to get here in the best condition possible".

He is one of the 26 players who will travel to Germany this Sunday and will do so with a suitcase full of hope and confidence. In Pedri we have a footballer of the highest level who has shown that he also knows how to shoot from distance, even though his team-mates joked about his first goal, which was from outside of the area. ‘They say I made a mistake, but I hope to make more mistakes,’ he concludes with a smile.