Spain have named their squad for the 2026 World Cup, with seven Barcelona players included. Perhaps the most celebrated was that of Gavi though.
La Roja have revealed the 26 names that will be going to the World Cup this summer, which for the first time ever will not include a Real Madrid player. Gonzalo Garcia did make the ‘support squad’ of nine players that will begin the training camp, but Dean Huijsen was one of the headline absences from de la Fuente’s list.
Gavi’s wild celebrations at being named in squad
A number of Barcelona players were present at the training ground to watch the call-up on Monday, Lamine Yamal filmed Gavi’s reaction to hearing his name read out. The 21-year-old has not been in the squad for the past year, and managed just 13 appearances all year, but his late form has convinced de la Fuente to include him in his squad.
#Gavi finds out he’s in the #Spain World Cup squad.pic.twitter.com/WnPyJB3C6I
— Football España (@footballespana_) May 25, 2026
Gavi’s battle with injuries
Gavi of course started off his run of injuries while on Spain duty, tearing his cruciate ligament against Georgia in November of 2023, an injury that kept him out of La Roja’s victorious Euro 2024 campaign. After returning for a period last season, de la Fuente included him in the Nations League final four squad last year, where he got on for the final minute of a 5-4 win over France in the semi-finals.
Ig Rashford: “Always a pleasure ⏭️ Season 2025/26 hungry for more @FCBarcelona 💙❤️” [@MarcusRashford] pic.twitter.com/A9L1PPp8EL
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 25, 2026
That is the only minute of action he has seen for Spain since 2023. and it looked likely that the knee injury that kept him out for seven months of this year would also rob him of the chance to get into the World Cup squad. In spite of it looking unlikely, an injury to Frenkie de Jong down the stretch allowed Gavi to earn a starting spot in the final two months of Barcelona’s season, sufficient to convince de la Fuente that he can add something.
