A historic absence for Real Madrid.. Spain squad for the 2026 World Cup announced
Spain national football coach Luis de la Fuente announced on Monday the official final squad for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The final list showed a surprise of a heavy caliber with no player representing Real Madrid, in a historic event that has never happened in Spain's World Cup runs.
The lineup led by Lamine Yamal
The squad is led by Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who is relied upon by the Spanish street, while the injury curse has deprived the royal club duo of Dani Carvajal and Dean Hausen of the international stage, after their long struggles throughout the domestic season, which in turn led to the unprecedented absence of Real Madrid players.
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino returned after recovering from a broken foot that kept him out of action since January, with De La Fuente's favourite coming on as a substitute in his side's last game against Crystal Palace at the end of the Premier League season.
De la Fuente also recalled the defensive duo of Eric Garcia and Marc Popel after outstanding efforts and an exceptional season with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid respectively, while the technical staff decided to exclude Atletico's other defender, Ruben Le Norman, and rely on a new defensive combination led by Pau Coparsi and Aymeric Laporte.
Full Lineup
The Spanish national team's lineup was as follows:
- Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Juan Garcia (Barcelona)
- Defenders: Marcos Llorente, Marc Popel (Atletico Madrid), Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao), Eric Garcia, Pau Coparsi (Barcelona), Marc Cucuria (Chelsea), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen).
- Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Subimendi, Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Pedri, Gavi (Barcelona), Fabian Reuss (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Baena (Atletico Madrid)
- Forwards: Jeremy Pino (Crystal Palace), Victor Muñoz (Osasuna), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Borja Iglesias (Celta Vigo).
The Spanish national team will compete in Group H of the 2026 World Cup, with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Cape Verde.
Title ambition and nominations
Spanish coach De La Fuente said his team feels confident in competing and winning the world title, but at the same time admitted that nominations guarantee nothing in the world of football, with super-strong teams such as England, France, Brazil and Argentina, citing the rule of the game that accepts loss even if you are the better side.