Lamine Yamal, left, and Nico Williams had fired Spain to Euro success in 2024. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Following Spain’s blistering run to the title at Euro 2024, it would not be wrong to suggest that the nation enters the FIFA World Cup 2026 as a heavy favourite.

And with a relatively young yet massively experienced crop of players, La Roja will be eager to recreate their dominance from more than a decade ago, during which they secured three of its five major international honours.

But the global stage has not been kind to the Spaniards since their triumph in 2010. A disastrous group stage exit in 2014 was followed by round of 16 shootout defeats in both 2018 and 2022.

With a turn of fortune being the need of the hour, on Monday, Luis de la Fuente shocked the football fraternity by not choosing a single player from Real Madrid, a first for Spain in World Cup history.

“I’m the manager, and I don’t look at where the players come from. They’re national team players; I don’t look at one club or another. I don’t have the same local bias ​that a fan might have. All ‌I want is for these players to feel proud to represent the national team,” De la Fuente told reporters.

Of the 26, 15 members featured in the victorious Euro 2024 campaign, while 12 of them, including the mercurial Lamine Yamal, will be playing in the World Cup for the first time. The squad selection will have been pretty straightforward for the 64-year-old based on form and availability, but narrowing it down to 11 on the pitch will prove to be a tougher task.

Despite mostly going under the radar during a regular season with Athletic Club, Unai Simon has consistently been Spain’s number one since late 2020. Being a senior voice in the roster, the 28-year-old is expeted to get de la Fuente’s backing in between the sticks despite David Raya and Joan Garcia coming off the back of winning their respective leagues.

Defense is where the biggest exclusions have come for Spain, with Real Madrid trio Dani Carvajal, Raul Asencio and Dean Huijsen finding no place on the plane to North America. The three only have a combined 52 league starts this season, with injury curtailing Carvajal while the other two failed to find form in a tumultuous seasons for the Los Blancos.

Pau Cubarsi, who has more than 100 appearances for Barcelona at the age of 19, looks the likely candidate to man the defence alongside Aymeric Laporte, who revived his career after moving from Al Nassr to Athletic Club last season.

Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro, who have had under-par seasons with their respective London clubs, seem the obvious choice to start as wing-backs, with Alex Grimaldo and Marco Llorente present as capable replacements.

Midfield is where Spain’s greatest have played, and this time too, there is plenty of talent on show. It will be a toss-up between Rodri and Zubimendi for the defensive midfielder role, with the experienced Manchester City man likely to edge the recently-crowned Premier League champion.

Pedri had to watch from the sidelines with an injury when Spain lifted a record fourth European Championship two years ago, but this time around the 23-year-old seems fit and ready to run Spain’s show in the middle of the pitch. Meanwhile, Euro 2024’s heroes, Mikel Merino and Fabian Ruiz, have retained their places despite missing major parts of the season with injury, but the latter’s late-season revival, where Paris Saint-Germain reached the Champions League final, gives him an edge.

Yamal enters the tournament as one of the most talked-about individuals, but with the youngster reportedly set to miss Spain’s first game due to a hamstring injury, Ferran Torres is expected to take his place. Meanwhile, Nico Williams’ fitness also remains a concern after he missed Athletic Club’s last three games with injury, and Dani Olmo, who became a mainstay after coming on to replace Pedri in the Euro 2024 quarters against Germany, could fill in on the left wing.

While former captain Alvaro Morata has been slowly phased out of the side over the past year, Mikel Oyarzabal will assume the central striker role at the “greatest show on Earth” after leading Real Sociedad to the Copa del Rey title.

BEST XI

Unai Simon (gk); Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Nico Williams

Spain’s World Cup 2026 squad

• Goalkeepers: Unai Simón, David Raya, Joan García
• Defenders: Marc Cucurella, Alejandro Grimaldo, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Pubill, Eric García, Marcos Llorente, Pedro Porro
• Midfielders: Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, Martín Zubimendi, Gavi, Rodrigo Hernández, Álex Baena, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal
• Forwards: Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Yeremy Pino, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Víctor Muñoz, Lamine Yamal

Published on May 25, 2026