Luis de la Fuente names final Spain squad before World Cup with Joan Garcia and without Dani Carvajal | OneFootball

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has named his final squad before the World Cup this summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada with several surprises. Two of the headlines are the presence of Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia for the first time, and the exclusion of Real Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal, who has been struggling with injuries for the past two years.

La Roja will play two friendlies this March international break before the World Cup, de la Fuente’s final chance to get a look at players up close. They were due to play La Finalissima against Argentina, but with the RFEF and AFA unable to settle on a venue after it had to be moved from Qatar due to conflict 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.

Exclusion of Carvajal and first chance for Joan Garcia

Carvajal is one of the major question marks for de la Fuente this summer, having been considered an important part of their Euro 2024 triumph. Yet de la Fuente has taken Marcos Llorente and Pedro Porro at right-back, and not Dani Carvajal. Similarly, de la Fuente has named four goalkeepers, with Garcia joining Unai Simon, David Raya and Alex Remiro, but only three expected to go.

There are returns to the squad for Carlos Soler, Ander Barrentxea, Yeremy Pino and Rodri Hernandez, while Pablo Fornals and Borja Iglesias retain their spots. Both are expected to be on the fringes of the cut come June. On the other hand, Osasuna’s Victor Munoz and Arsenal’s Cristhian Mosquera have both received their first call-ups alongside Joan Garcia.

The absences for de la Fuente

Compared to the squad in November, the most recent, Dani Vivian and Aleix Garcia are perhaps the headline absences beyond Carvajal. In particular the former, who has been a regular for La Roja squads since Euro 2024. Other major misses 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 in time for consideration. Another candidate for selection was Marc Pubill at Atletico Madrid, but he is struggling for fitness too, while Rayo Vallecano’s Jorge de Frutos has also missed out.

Full Spain squad

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon, David Raya, Joan Garcia, Alex Remiro

Defenders: 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

Forwards: Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Yeremy Pino, Ander Barrenetxea, Alex Baena, Victor Munoz, Borja Iglesias