Barcelona welcome final World Cup contingent back to training | OneFootball

Up to 16 FC Barcelona players were called up for the 2026 World Cup, and half of these players, eight, made their way to the very final of the tournament, and ended up winning it with the Spanish national team.

These eight players played their final game of the competition on 19 July, and this was the day when they started their summer holidays. Other players started their holidays as their respective teams were eliminated from the competition.

As a result, Hansi Flick, who started preseason training on 13 July, has been without most of his important players for most part of this preseason. He has been getting these players back gradually as they ended their holidays.

Now, SPORT notes that all the international players have now returned to train with the German coach, as Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, and Pedri all reported to Ciutat Esportiva today, on Wednesday. All of these players have passed their medicals, and will now be available for training under Flick.

These four were the players who accumulated the most minutes with the Spanish national team in the World Cup, and thus, they were allowed to return on 12 August. Other members of the Spanish team who did not get to play a lot of minutes, Gavi, Eric Garcia, and Joan Garcia, had already returned to train at the club facilities a few days ago.

Similarly, the new signing Anthony Gordon and the defender Jules Kounde, who both participated in the third-place match with England and France respectively on 18 July, have also returned to Barcelona to start preparing for the next season.