An absolutely incredible XI left out of Spain’s 2026 World Cup squad | OneFootball

There are no Real Madrid players in Spain’s World Cup squad for the first time in history – and some impressive talent from other clubs are missing out too.

Spain are among the favourites to win this year’s tournament and with some of the talent that hasn’t even made the cut for their final squad, you can see why.

Luis de la Fuente has announced his 26-man squad to take to North America and there are stars aplenty. Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Nico Williams are among those present as Spain aim to follow up their Euro 2024 success.

But such is the depth of Spain’s talent that they could even field a strong hypothetical XI of players they’ve left out of the squad.

Not counting injured players like Fermin Lopez and Samu Aghehowa, here’s our overlooked Spain XI.

GK: Robert Sanchez

Sanchez still divides opinion in goal for Chelsea, conceding 47 goals in the Premier League this season.

But his reputation was once strong enough to earn him three caps for Spain, between 2021 and 2024. He was a member of their last World Cup squad in Qatar.

With Unai Simon, David Raya and Joan Garcia ahead of him in the pecking order, he can’t have too many complaints about missing out this time.

This XI gets better, we promise.

RB: Cristhian Mosquera

Mosquera has filled in either as a centre-back or right-back in his first season with Arsenal, starting to make a name for himself in the past couple of months.

Now a Premier League winner, the 21-year-old earned his first two caps for his country in March.

CB: Dean Huijsen

The first of three Real Madrid players in our XI, Huijsen earned his big move last summer after a breakout year with Bournemouth.

The Dutch-born defender committed his international future to Spain, where he grew up, last year. He won’t be adding to his seven caps until after the World Cup, though.

CB: Robin Le Normand

Another defender not born in Spain but who came to represent La Roja, Le Normand has spent the past couple of seasons with Atletico Madrid.

His 27th and most recent cap for Spain came back in October.

LB: Alvaro Carreras

There were a couple of options for left-back here. Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde was another shout.

Carreras – formerly known as Fernandez, and still probably known as one that got away for Manchester United – got his big move to Real Madrid last summer after impressing for Benfica.

CM: Nico Gonzalez

Gonzalez is yet to make his senior debut for Spain, but has 11 caps behind him for their under-21s.

Playing for a team as strong as Manchester City – and having history with Barcelona – should bode well for his future chances, although he’ll have to become a starter for his club more often.

And that’s not easy when his compatriot Rodri is in the way.

CM: Javi Guerra

Still only 23, despite being one of those names that seems to have cropped up in transfer gossip columns for years, Guerra has spent his whole career so far with Valencia.

A 21-time Spain U21 international, the midfielder made 36 La Liga appearances this season, scoring four goals and adding six assists.

Although he’s missed out on the final squad, Guerra will be part of the first week of Spain’s training camp before the World Cup.

CM: Pablo Barrios

We said we wouldn’t include injured players and, well, Barrios currently is. We can explain.

The Atletico Madrid midfielder is expected to have recovered by the time the World Cup would have been. Thus, he could have added to his four caps for his country.

Still only 22, Barrios was part of the Spain U23 squad that won Olympic Gold two years ago.

RW: Jorge de Frutos

It’s been a wild ride for Rayo Vallecano this season, with a Conference League final against Crystal Palace beckoning.

De Frutos has been one of their leading lights, more so domestically than in Europe. It’s the first time ever he’s reached double figures of goals in a La Liga season.

De Frutos earned his senior Spain debut in September at the age of 28 (he’s now 29), but the former Real Madrid Castilla player hasn’t been selected since.

CF: Gonzalo Garcia

There were high hopes for Garcia when he rose to prominence at the Club World Cup last summer. But he hasn’t quite done enough yet to make it to the actual World Cup this year.

The 22-year-old has scored eight goals in his first proper season with Real Madrid, and has five goals from seven games for Spain’s U21s. He has at least been invited to the first week of Spain’s training camp.

He still feels like a talent for the future, but will be approaching the prime of his career by the time his next chance to go to a World Cup rolls around.