Sergio Ramos of Spain announces his retirement from international play after 180 games:
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Madrid: After a record 180 games for Spain, defender Sergio Ramos of Paris Saint-Germain and former Real Madrid has announced his retirement from international football. The 36-year-old, who will turn 37 in March, announced in a letter published on Thursday night that he would no longer be available for the Spanish national team, nearly two years to the day after his final appearance, a substitute role against Kosovo on March 31, 2021.
, the new Spain coach, had called him to let him know that he was no longer in his plans. "The time has come to bid farewell to the National Team, our beloved and exciting Red Shirt (the colours of Spain). The present coach (de la Fuente) called me this morning and informed me that he won't be depending on me, regardless of the level I can perform at or how I continue my athletic career "Ramos stated in his letter.
Ramos was not selected by former Spain coach Luis Enrique during his tenure, which ended after Spain was eliminated from the 2022 World Cup finals, for the 2021 European Championships after the defender sustained an injury. Ramos was reportedly going to be included once more by De la Fuente, but the former Under-21 coach would rather deal with younger athletes than a footballer who will be 38 when the next European Championships take place.
The adventure has come to an end, one for which Ramos expressed the wish that it would have been longer and left him with a better aftertaste. He continued, alleging that De la Fuente's decision was not "based on ability," saying, "I sincerely feel that this career deserved to end due to a personal decision or because my performance was not up to what our National Team deserves." In his lengthy international career, which started when he was 18 years old in a friendly win against China in March 2005 and had Spain's victory at the 2010 World Cup as its high point, Ramos scored 23 goals.
Real Madrid lost a dramatic game 3-2 on the road to local rivals Rayo Vallecano on Monday night, ceding the league lead to FC Barcelona. In spite of losing 19 of their previous 20 games to Real Madrid, Rayo earned the victory thanks to a gutsy offensive performance and some last-ditch defence in the dying seconds. Tech Layoffs Job Losses in 2023: They Continue
With Karim Benzema still out of the lineup, Rayo got out to a fast start in the match. After just five minutes, Santi Comisana scored a left-foot volley from Alvaro's cross from the left as the home team attempted to move the ball fast and push Madrid high up the field. Before the game drastically altered in the 36th minute, Rayo continued to dominate, with Oscar Valentin shooting over and Isi Palizon forcing a good stop from Thibaut Courtois.
Meanwhile, Rayo made a great start to the second half. Fran Garcia shot just over, and Rayo coach Andoni Iraola was dismissed for disputing that Courtois had touched the ball. Oscar Trejo's two-goal penalty in the 67th minute gave the home team the lead once more. Dani Carvajal was given a handball penalty, and although though Courtois blocked Trejo's initial penalty effort, VAR revealed that the goalkeeper was just slightly off his line prior to Trejo's second attempt, when he slid the ball to the keeper's left. After scoring, Trejo was replaced by Unai Lopez, but his team's style of play remained the same, with the fullbacks continuing to advance quickly. Real didn't show up until the final five minutes.
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