Real Sociedad opener at Real Madrid ‘set to be postponed’ | OneFootball

Real Sociedad’s LaLiga opener at Real Madrid is set to be postponed, with five Madrid players in the World Cup semi-finals. According to Diario Vasco, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Tchouameni, Marc Cucurella and Konaté are all still involved.

La Real have one semi-finalist, Mikel Oyarzabal, which would hand them extra preparation days. The meeting had been scheduled for 15-16 August at the Santiago Bernabéu, and potential alterations were flagged before the calendar was released last month.

LaLiga has yet to confirm, and any announcement could arrive next week once the World Cup ends. Real would then start 2026/27 a week later, away to Betis at La Cartuja on 22-23 August. The Madrid game is likely for the final week of the month, between Tuesday 25 and Thursday 27, subject to scheduling.

Barcelona vs Athletic and Atlético Madrid vs Málaga are also set to be postponed due to the number of semi-finalists involved. The 30 June calendar draw was structured to enable such deferrals for clubs with heavy international representation.

Barça have up to 10 players in the semi-finals and Atlético also have 10, while Athletic contribute three to Luis de la Fuente’s squad. Real also sent Guedes, Kubo and Sucic to the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, all of whom cleared the group stage. For Madrid, Courtois and Brahim Díaz reached the quarter-finals.

Betis intend to request a postponement of their trip to Valencia despite having only one semi-finalist, Lo Celso. Under the AFE collective agreement, players are due three weeks of rest after their last World Cup match and a further three weeks of preparation. Semi-finalists are guaranteed one more game, with a third-place play-off on Saturday if they lose.

Oyarzabal’s return date to Zubieta is unknown. If his holidays start on Monday, his 21-day break would run to around 10 August, leaving little time to prepare before the league begins. Kubo, Guedes and Sucic have yet to report back.

Source: Diario Vasco