Spain manager Luis de la Fuente announced his final squad ahead of this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada with many surprises. Two of the headlines are the presence of Joan Garcia, who is the goalkeeper of Barcelona for the first time, without the defender of Real Madrid, Dani Carvajal, who has been suffering from injury for two years.
La Roja will play two friendlies during the international break in March ahead of the World Cup, which is de la Fuente’s last chance to watch the players up close. They were supposed to play La Finalissima with Argentina, but since the RFEF and AFA could not stay in the area after it was moved from Qatar due to conflicts in the region, it was cancelled. As such, they will face Serbia at La Ceramica on the 27th of March, and Egypt at the RCDE Stadium on the 30th.
The dismissal of Carvajal and the first chance of Joan Garcia
Carvajal is one of de la Fuente’s biggest question marks this summer, as he is considered a key part of their Euro 2024 victory. However de la Fuente has taken Marcos Llorente and Pedro Porro at right back, not Dani Carvajal. Likewise, ude la Fuente has called up four goalkeepers, with Garcia joining Unai Simon, David Raya and Alex Remiro, but only three are expected to go.
🚨 🚨 This is the list of players for the matches against Serbia and Egypt.
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— Select Española Masculina de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) March 20, 2026
Carlos Soler, Ander Barrentxea, Yeremy Pino and Rodri Hernandez have returned to the team, while Pablo Fornals and Borja Iglesias have kept their places. Both are expected to be on the verge of a decision in June. On the other hand, Osasuna’s Victor Munoz and Arsenal’s Cristhian Mosquera both received their first call-ups along with Joan Garcia.
The absence of de la Fuente
Compared to the team in November, most recently, Dani Vivian and Aleix Garcia are perhaps the most absent subjects beyond Carvajal. Especially the former, who has been a regular in La Roja’s squads since Euro 2024. Others who are sorely missed are Mikel Merino, Fabian Ruiz, Samu Aghehowa and Pablo Barrios. All four are injured, and Aghehowa will miss the World Cup. Barrios is expected to return in April, while Merino and Fabian hope to be fit for consideration. Another candidate was Marc Pubill at Atletico Madrid, but he is also struggling for fitness, while Rayo Vallecano’s Jorge de Frutos also missed out.
The perfect Spanish team
Goalkeepers: Unai Simon, David Raya, Joan Garcia, Alex Remiro
The protectors: Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Dean Huijsen, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Alejandro Grimaldo, Marcos Llorente, Cristhian Mosquera
Midfielders: Rodri Hernandez, Martin Zubimendi, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, Carlos Soler, Pablo Fornals, Dani Olmo
Forward: Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Yeremy Pino, Ander Barrenetxea, Alex Baena, Victor Munoz, Borja Iglesias
