Barca dominate Spain World Cup squad as Madrid stars miss out
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has announced his 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with no Real Madrid player included in the list.
De la Fuente made the list public on Monday with Barcelona dominating with eight players while there was no place any player from their rivals Real Madrid.
Lamine Yamal, who missed the last month of the season with a hamstring injury was included in the team alongside seven of his club teammates.
The likes of Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres will represent the Blaugrana in the national team at the mundial.
Real Madrid’s duo of Dani Carvajal and Dean Huijsen missed out of the team.
Arsenal’s Mikel Merino, who has been out of action for four months also made the cut alongside injured Athletic Bilbao forward, Nico Williams.
De la Fuente is confident that the injured players will recover in time to be able to play in their first match against Cape Verde on June 15.
He said: “We’re very calm,” he said. “I think that if there are no setbacks, we can almost have everyone available from the first game.
“The doctor and fitness coach have been visiting the clubs and talking to them. We’ve been coordinating… I have no doubt they’ll be ready for the first game, and if not, they’ll be ready for the second.
“It’s difficult,” De la Fuente said, when asked about leaving players out.
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“We think about every possible scenario that can happen in games with our opponents, and their characteristics… We’ve chosen these 26. I think we’ve covered the needs of the team… I don’t know whether they play for one team or another.”
Spain crashed out in the second round at the 2022 edition of the tournament in Saudi Arabia following a 3-0 penalty shootout defeat to Morocco.
They will play a pre-tournament friendly against Iraq in A Coruña, Galicia, on Thursday, June 4, before taking on Peru in Mexico on June 4.
Spain will battle it out with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde in Group H.
It is the first time since 1950 that Spain will go to a World Cup without a Real Madrid player in their squad.
Spain World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Joan Garcia (Barcelona).
Defenders: Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Marc Pubill (Atletico Madrid), Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao), Eric Garcia (Barcelona), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen).
Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal), Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Pedri (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona), Fabian Ruiz (Paris St-Germain), Alex Baena (Atletico Madrid).
Forwards: Yeremy Pino (Crystal Palace), Victor Munoz (Osasuna), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Borja Iglesias (Celta Vigo).
