"Ancelotti appeared and gave me the news" - Asencio on first Spain call-up

Raul Asencio enjoyed his first day as an international with the pride of reaching the senior team because of his rise at Madrid, and pointed to Sergio Ramos and Carles Puyol as his references, the players he looked up to in order to grow as a defender.

“Sergio Ramos, in the end, has always been a reference for me. For everyone who likes football, they know what he has been, both with Madrid and with the Spanish national team. He is a clear reference. At the national level there are many, like Carles Puyol. You look at them and the way they play from a young age, you get the virtues of each player,” he acknowledged.

Asencio, who since November has gone from playing with the reserve team in the Spanish third tier to playing with Madrid in the top flight and establishing himself as a starter with Ancelotti, showed the happiness he felt on a very special day in his career.

“I am very happy to live this new experience, I want to try to live it to the fullest. Ever since I was little I dreamed of something like this and that I have been able to get this way makes me very proud and very happy,” he told the RFEF media.

The Madrid defender told how he found out about Luis de la Fuente's call-up for the quarterfinals of the Nations League against the Netherlands.

“In training, Ancelotti showed up and gave me the news that I was going to be called up to the national team. Well, imagine, all the teammates congratulating me, the coaching staff, the truth is that it was nice,” he recalled.

Now, Asencio faces the opportunity in the senior team with the objective of “enjoying, learning, living the experience” and getting to know a different way of working with the national team. “I have been able to see and live everything as a football fan and now I start this new experience open to listen to everyone, to try to learn from each and every one of my teammates, coaching staff and staff. I want to enjoy it to the fullest,” he concluded.