Luis de la Fuente labels Spain as favourites for 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

In a few weeks’ time, the eagerly-anticipated 2026 World Cup will get underway in the United States, Mexico and Canada. A number of nations have already named their 26-man squads for the tournament, and this week, they will be joined in doing so by Spain.

In the next 48 hours, it will be known who is representing La Roja at the upcoming World Cup, during which they will hope to achieve their second world title after the one they won in South Africa in 2010. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal will be one of those called upon, although he won’t be able to face Cape Verde in the tournament opener.

Ahead of naming his squad this week, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente spoke on a recent podcast (via Diario AS) about his side’s chances in North America, as he backed the claim that they’re one of the favourites.

“We have to be cautious, despite being favourites. We have to go with our feet on the ground. I don’t shy away, we are favourites, but we’re equally as favourites as England or France.”

De la Fuente: No club players, only national team players

The Spain head coach was also keen to stress that long gone are the days that the Spain squad is divided into club cliques, as he sees his squad united as a national core.

“There are no club players here, there are national team players. It’s a different mentality. We have to abstract ourselves from everything and always try to bring the best.”

It’ll be very interesting to see who is named in de la Fuente’s squad for the 2026 World Cup. He’s already all-but confirmed that Gavi will be included after his strong recent form for Barcelona, but there are dilemmas that still need to be resolved before the announcement is made this week.