The list went live at noon.
Phones buzzed first.
Then televisions changed channels.
Across various mediums, names rolled across screens in neat rows, familiar and expected.
Unai Simón. Raya. Carvajal. Rodri. Pedri. Yamal.
It was what was expected, but when the list scrolling stopped, and got done with, people couldn't help but lean forward.
Some frowned.
Others refreshed the page.
But the name never appeared.
In a bar just off the Gran Vía, a man in an old Spain shirt tapped the screen with his thumb, slow at first, then harder.
"That's it?" he said, not angry yet, just confused. "That's the whole list?"
His friend took the phone, scanned it once, then laughed under his breath.
"He's not there."
Around them, the same realisation spread in pieces.
"No Izan?"
"Did I miss it?"
"Scroll back up."
On social media, the reaction arrived all at once.
Screens filled with comments and thoughts of the selection all fired at once.
