On 6 February 2014, although he was still eligible to play for the under-21s, Spain manager Vicente del Bosque revealed that Jesé was in his plans ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. However, his chances of taking part at the tournament were ended in March when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Real Madrid, with Del Bosque describing the situation as "a blow". Due to his eight-month spell on the sidelines, Jesé also missed Spain's qualification play-off against Serbia for the 2015 European U-21 Championship. Spain ultimately lost the match 2–1 and thereby also failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.