Spain confirmed its players for the 2026 World Cup, without the presence of Real Madrid
Huijsen, a defender with an irregular season in Madrid, was one of the absences that caused surprise on the list
The Spanish team has already defined the 26 players who will compete in the 2026 World Cup and the call presented by Luis de la Fuente left an unprecedented fact: for the first time in the history of the tournament, the Spanish team will not have Real Madrid players in its final squad.
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The absence of representatives of the merengue club ended up marking a good part of the debate around the list announced this Monday by the Spanish coach. Dean Huijsen was the only Real Madrid player with a real chance of making the final squad, although he was finally left out. Fran García and Gonzalo had previously been included in a pre-list of 55 names reserved for eventual emergencies.
In contrast, Barcelona once again had an important weight within the squad, led by Lamine Yamal, who overcame the physical problems he had been carrying since April and will be present in the World Cup to be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Barcelona attacker had been out of action since April 22 due to a tear in the femoral biceps of his left leg. Despite this, Luis de la Fuente decided to keep him in the squad, as did Nico Williams and Mikel Merino, both recently affected by muscle discomfort.
Spain will begin its concentration on May 30 at the Las Rozas Football City, in Madrid. Before the World Cup debut, the team will play two friendlies: on June 4 against Iraq in La Coruña and on June 9 against Peru in Puebla, Mexico.
Carvajal and Morata are left out of the project
The call also confirmed the absence of two footballers with important careers in the Spanish team: Dani Carvajal and Álvaro Morata. Regarding both players, Luis de la Fuente explained that they could still be considered again in the future.
"They have left an indelible legacy. Their cycles have not ended. Better times will come to count on them again," declared the coach.
Fermín López will not be part of the group either due to the recently suffered fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot. Even so, Spain maintains an important base of young footballers and players who participated in the recent growth of the national team.
Among those called up are names like Pedri, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Rodri and Mikel Oyarzabal, in addition to Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino in attack.
La Roja was placed in Group H of the World Cup. His debut will be on June 15 against Cape Verde. Later they will face Saudi Arabia on the 21st and will close the group stage against Uruguay on June 27.
Spain will seek to win its second world title after the one achieved in South Africa 2010. The team led by De la Fuente could meet Argentina starting in the round of 32 of the tournament.
The final squad was made up of Unai Simón, David Raya and Joan García as goalkeepers; Pedro Porro, Marcos Llorente, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Pubill, Eric García, Marc Cucurella and Alejandro Grimaldo in defense; Rodri, Martín Zubimendi, Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, Dani Olmo, Mikel Merino, Gavi and Alex Baena in midfield; in addition to Lamine Yamal, Yeremy Pino, Ferrán Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal, Borja Iglesias, Nico Williams and Víctor Muñoz in attack.

