From grandfather, to father to son: Chelsea's Marcos Alonso makes football history with Spain debut

Marcos Alonso has followed in his father and grandfather's footsteps by winning his first cap for the Spanish national side.

Alonso came on as a substitute for Spain's friendly game against Argentina on Tuesday night, which was the Chelsea defender's first appearance for La Roja.

But, in doing so, Alonso also became just the seventh third-generation player to feature for their nation.

His grandfather, Marcos Alonso Imaz, won his first cap for Spain against France on March 17 1955.

Alonso's father, Marcos Alonso Pena, then made his debut for the nation against England on March 25 1981.

Alonso now joins a small group of third-generation players to have debuted for their nation. They are: Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Warren Feeney (Northern Ireland), Hazem Emam (Egypt), Vladimir Weiss (Slovakia) and Andre Schembri (Malta).

Alonso had, until this week, been overlooked by Spain coach Lopetegui despite playing a key role in Chelsea's title-winning team of 2016-17.

Indeed, he admitted last week he was surprised at his call-up to Spain's squad for games against Germany and Argentina but revealed he was "eager" to prove himself to Lopetegui.

The 27-year-old said: "Whether it's late or not, the important thing is that I'm here. I'm grateful. I tried not to think too much about it.

"My focus was on doing well at Chelsea and this was a welcome surprise. This is a reward for the work I've done in recent years. I was training when I found out.

"I went in the locker room and all of my team-mates congratulated me. I'm thrilled and looking forward to this experience.

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"It's a chance to prove myself and for me to adapt quickly to the side and hopefully, to return to the national team more times." - Evening Standard