Liverpool star handed surprise international call-up after injury lay-off

The winger, who was part of La Roja’s World Cup-winning squad at last summer’s tournament, joined the Reds after the tournament in a £34.5million transfer from La Liga side Osasuna. He has had a mixed start to life at Anfield, scoring two goals in his first 12 matches for the Merseyside club. The forward, 23, made the switch to the Premier League side after an impressive single season with Osasuna, with eight goal contributions in 34 appearances in Spain’s top division.Before that, he had come through Real Madrid’s youth system, and he made two apperances for the club’s first team in the 2024-25 campaign. Now, he is a late call-up to Luis de la Fuente’s squad for the upcoming Nations League games, where Spain take on the Czech Republic and England, who they have a three-point advantage over at the top of Group A3. For his country, Munoz has five senior caps and one goal, which he scored in a friendly against Serbia back in March this year. He has struggled with a knee injury in recent weeks, missing three matches - the wins over Villarreal, Brighton and Chelsea across the Champions League, Premier League and Carabao Cup - before returning to action in the 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal at Anfield on November 1, as Kai Havertz netted the winner for the reigning Premier League champions.