{"id":6873,"date":"2026-05-25T14:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/yamal-in-spains-world-cup-squad-but-no-room-for-real-madrid-players\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T14:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:35:23","slug":"yamal-in-spains-world-cup-squad-but-no-room-for-real-madrid-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/yamal-in-spains-world-cup-squad-but-no-room-for-real-madrid-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Yamal in Spain\u2019s World Cup squad, but no room for Real Madrid players"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yamal, one of eight Barcelona players named in the 26-man squad, with seven Arsenal players picked by Luis de la Fuente.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lamine Yamal has been included in Spain\u2019s squad for the FIFA World Cup, named by coach Luis de la Fuente, who also included Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino in the European champions\u2019 roster after his recent return from injury.<\/p>\n

For the first time since 1950, Spain\u2019s World Cup squad will not include a Real Madrid player as De la Fuente opted against naming one in his 26-man squad announced\u00a0on Monday.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid\u2019s Dean Huijsen was dropped due to an injury, and veteran Dani Carvajal was also excluded after struggling through an injury-hit campaign.<\/p>\n

Along with teenage Barcelona\u00a0star Yamal, Athletic Bilbao\u2019s Nico Williams played a key role as Spain won Euro 2024, and he is in the squad despite a season badly disrupted by fitness issues.<\/p>\n

Yamal, 18, is a doubt for the first matches of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury with Barca, which has kept him out since late April.<\/p>\n

De la Fuente played down the absence of Madrid\u2019s players, preferring to highlight those who are in the squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the manager, and I don\u2019t look at where the players come from. They\u2019re \u200cnational team players; I don\u2019t look at one club or another. I don\u2019t 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,\u201d De la Fuente told reporters.<\/p>\n

In addition to Yamal, Barcelona\u2019s contingent includes Joan Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, while seven players called up are based in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcitement is the keyword. Passion,\u201d De la Fuente said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction of people all over Spain \u2013 adults and children \u2060alike \u2013 is that they are fully behind the national team. It is an \u2060honour for me to represent the national team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arsenal provide three of Spain\u2019s Premier League-based players in goalkeeper David Raya and midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, while Manchester City\u2019s Rodri gives De la Fuente a commanding presence in midfield.<\/p>\n

The coach also addressed the injury concern regarding \u2060Yamal and Williams, who will arrive at the tournament nursing hamstring issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very relaxed. Barring any setbacks, we\u2019ll have everyone available from the very first match. \u2060We\u2019re in close contact with the clubs\u2019 medical teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll call \u2060on them when we deem it appropriate. I\u2019d like to reiterate that we\u2019ll have everyone in top form and we\u2019ll be able to enjoy watching them in the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spain will arrive at the World Cup carrying the confidence of their European Championship triumph in Germany two years \u200cago, but with the weight of expectation from a passionate fanbase.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s World Cup 2026 squad<\/h2>\n

Goalkeepers:<\/strong> Unai Simon, David Raya, Joan Garcia<\/p>\n

Defenders:<\/strong> Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, Pedro Porro, Aymeric Laporte, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella, Alejandro Grimaldo<\/p>\n

Midfielders:<\/strong> Rodri, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Pedri, Gavi, Fabian Ruiz, Alex Baena<\/p>\n

Forwards:<\/strong> Yeremy Pino, Victor Munoz, Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Borja Iglesias<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yamal, one of eight Barcelona players named in the 26-man squad, with seven Arsenal players picked by Luis de la Fuente. Lamine Yamal has been included in Spain\u2019s squad for the FIFA World Cup, named by coach Luis de la Fuente, who also included Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino in the European champions\u2019 roster after his … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}