Sofia Quijada
For the first time in history, Real Madrid will have zero representatives in a Spain World Cup squad. Luis de la Fuente announced his La Roja selection on Monday, leaving every eligible Real Madrid option out of the picture.
Read also: Spain squad World Cup 2026: Which players have made it to the showpiece in USA, Mexico and Canada?
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The 26-man squad features nearly a third of its players from Barcelona, a stark contrast to the absence from the Santiago Bernabeu. The pool of candidates was thin: Dani Ceballos, Raul Asencio, and Dani Carvajal collectively hold just one cap between them over the past 18 months, while Thiago Pitarch and Fran Garcia were never in contention. Gonzalo Garcia came closest, earning a place in the nine-man support squad that will train with La Roja before the team travels for their final friendly against Peru in Mexico. The most prominent omission, though, was Dean Huijsen.
Huijsen Responds to the Omission
Once it became clear Carvajal would not return, Huijsen appeared to be the realistic contender, having earned seven caps over the past 18 months. The strong form of Marc Pubill and Eric Garcia, combined with the established presence of Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi, shut that door.
Huijsen Story in Instagram. Source: Official Instagram
The 21-year-old made his feelings plain. Huijsen posted on his Instagram story a picture of the Sofascore Team of the Season, a list that also features Cubarsi and Garcia — a pointed reminder of where he stands statistically relative to the players selected ahead of him.
De la Fuente’s Selection Logic
Since Euro 2024, de la Fuente has largely stayed loyal to the group that won in Germany. Centre-back is the position that has seen the most rotation: Robin Le Normand, a starter in the Euro 2024 final, and Dani Vivian both missed out, and Nacho Fernandez has been absent from the squad since the tournament.
Garcia and Pubill delivered consistent performances for their clubs. Cubarsi has been a fixture since the Euros. Laporte‘s experience carries weight in the squad’s leadership structure. Huijsen, for his part, lost his starting place at Real Madrid during the second half of the season, which clearly factored into the decision. De la Fuente stated he had the bulk of the squad decided for several months.
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