Lamine Yamal will lead the Spanish national football team in the 2026 World Cup despite arriving with physical doubts, in a historic call-up marked by the total absence of Real Madrid CF players.
This Monday, coach Luis de la Fuente announced a list in which defenders Eric García, from FC Barcelona, and Marc Pubill, from Atlético de Madrid, stand out as new additions.
The call leaves an unprecedented fact: it will be the first time that Spain plays a World Cup without Spanish representation from Real Madrid.
Until now, the edition with fewer Real Madrid players in La Roja had been Brazil 1950, when only Luis Molowny was present.
“I don’t look at whether a player comes from one club or another. I look globally at whether he can be a player for the Spanish team,” De la Fuente explained when asked about the absence of Real Madrid footballers.
Confidence in the injured
The Spanish coach also conveyed peace of mind regarding the physical condition of several important players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino.
“We are very calm. If there are no setbacks we can count on almost everyone from the first game,” said the coach.
Lamine Yamal has not played for weeks due to a muscle injury suffered with Barcelona, while Nico Williams is also facing the final stretch of his recovery.
For his part, Merino left behind a stress fracture in his right foot and recently assured that “the foot thing is forgotten.”
De la Fuente explained that the federation’s medical team works in coordination with the clubs to monitor the evolution of all the players affected.
“We are not going to accelerate any process. The dates and data we have are that they will be available for the first game or the second,” he indicated.
Spain feels favorite for the title
Spain will begin its participation in the World Cup on June 15 against the Cape Verde soccer team within Group H.
They will then face the Saudi Arabia national football team on June 21 and close the group stage against the Uruguay national football team on June 27.
La Roja will try to improve its discreet performances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup, tournaments in which it was eliminated in the round of 16.
De la Fuente did not hide his team’s ambition and assured that Spain considers itself a candidate for the world title.
“Do we feel like favorites? Yes. Capable of winning the World Cup? Yes, but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” he said.
“We have quality, humanity and competitiveness. In that we are a very powerful team,” concluded the Spanish coach.
