Luis de la Fuente discusses three Barcelona players outside Spain’s regular call-ups | OneFootball

FC Barcelona continue to be one of the strongest contributors to the Spanish national team, and that trend is expected to remain ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, breaking into the settled core of Luis de la Fuente is proving difficult, even for players performing well at the club level.

In this regard, Mundo Deportivo reports that the Spanish national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, recently appeared in an interview with Diario AS, and, among other players, discussed several Barcelona players who are not regular call-ups, including Alejandro Balde, Eric Garcia, and Joan Garcia.

De la Fuente explained the depth of competition for the World Cup squad:

“We manage three or four players per position, whom we monitor on a weekly basis. That already means we’re talking about 45 players. But the final squad will be 26, and the bad news would be if I didn’t have the list clear. We have a very solid base of 25 or 26 players who could be included — even 30.”

Regarding Balde, Luis de la Fuente said:

“Balde has already been with me. He’s on our preliminary list, and he’s doing very well, just like Álvaro Carreras at Real Madrid. But as long as I consider that there are other left-backs performing well, they will continue to be called up.”

Eric Garcia was mentioned while de la Fuente discussed right backs:

“God willing, Dani Carvajal will be at the World Cup. I speak with him, and he tells me his recovery is going well. There are still many months to go, but Carvajal being at the World Cup would be the best news for him and for the national team. We’ll see how things evolve because he’s a very important player for us.“

“But Pedro Porro is also at a great level, as is Marcos Llorente. And then in the Under-21s there are other very good players as well, like Álex Jiménez and Iván Fresneda… And there’s Eric Garcia, who is playing very well at Barça and can occupy several positions. But we’ll see what happens, because I hope I’m wrong, but surely there will be some other absence.”

On goalkeepers, de la Fuente indicated that Joan Garcia, who is making a strong case for his inclusion in the Spain squad with his impressive performance for FC Barcelona, faces the toughest challenge:

“There are demands in every position… We have five or six of the best goalkeepers in the world. Nobody talks about Robert Sánchez or Leo Román. We have very good goalkeepers, among the best in the world… and of course Joan Garcia as well.“

De la Fuente’s comments show that while Balde, Eric Garcia, and Joan Garcia are on the national team’s radar, the competition is intense. Their World Cup hopes will depend on standout performances in the second half of the season and potential openings due to injuries or changes in form. For now, they remain contenders rather than guaranteed selections.