Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has not ruled out that Dani Carvajal could make his way into the squad for the World Cup, after leaving him out for his final international call-up before the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 33-year-old was the highest profile absence from his squad, which also included four gaolkeepers.
La Roja have organised two friendlies with Serbia and Morocco for the upcoming international break, and de la Fuente has named his final squad before he makes his World Cup choices. Notably, he named four goalkeepers in the squad, adding Barcelona’s Joan Garcia to the usual trio of Unai Simon, David Raya and Alex Remiro.
“Rules are made to be broken. He’s a great goalkeeper, we didn’t just discover that; he’s been an under-21 international for five years. He can contribute to a positive team dynamic, a strong work ethic, teamwork, and the ability to push others… Today we felt it was the right time for him to join us. The best news is that we have so many players to choose from,” de la Fuente told Diario AS.
🚨 OFFICIAL: Marc Bernal has been called up by Spain U21 for the international break. [@SEFutbol] pic.twitter.com/Xijzu7bQ7M
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 20, 2026
De la Fuente on Joan Garcia call-up
It was then put to de la Fuente that it could harm the chemistry of the goalkeeping department, and perhaps more pointedly, add undue pressure on the other three goalkeepers. The Spain coach declared that he could take all four to the World Cup.
“There’s still plenty of time, and any player not being on the list doesn’t mean he’s been ruled out. It was the right time to have four very good goalkeepers. It’s a very unusual World Cup, which gives us ideas for making decisions, and we believe the decisions will be appropriate for the competition. We can have 26 players and one goalkeeper has to be left out, and we’ll think about who that will be in the future.”
“I don’t understand it. It’s great news that we’re having trouble choosing players. There’s no debate about it; you all are creating that. Zero pressure, and we’re bringing in what we need to bring in. We’ll always be professional and honest. They’re saying, ‘What a problem for De la Fuente now, having to call up Joan García’… Can anyone believe I would have been happy about Joan García’s injury, as some are saying? I haven’t been any braver for bringing in three or four players; we brought them in because it was the most appropriate thing to do.”
Carvajal’s chances of making World Cup
After going through his own injury crisis, Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez returned to the squad. However there was no place for Dani Carvajal, despite being fit since January.
“We celebrate Rodri’s moment, we celebrate that he’s with us. With Carvajal… everyone knows what they have to do at home and we hope he’ll be even better so he can be with us; he’s a very important player.”
“They need to keep working as they are. Both Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Morata have to keep working, and that’s how they understand football, so they can demonstrate it on the pitch. Hopefully, Dani will recover the form he showed at the Euros… They need to play, get back to their usual level, and then they’ll be with us.”
🚨 Luis De La Fuente: “Marc [Pubill] is having a great season. We prioritize players’ health. The information we had from both the club’s and the national team’s medical staff was that the player had not yet fully recovered. As I always insist, we don’t take risks with players.… pic.twitter.com/2fVQzHpExM
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) March 20, 2026
De la Fuente reaction to La Finalissima cancellation
De la Fuente was always quizzed on his reaction to the cancellation of La Finalissima against Argentina.
“The Finalissima was a match to win a title, but we were looking beyond that, preparing for the World Cup. It’s true that we wanted to play it and win it so we could enjoy it with the players. We haven’t been together since November, this window was very important for us, to regain our form, to see new players.”
La Roja head into the World Cup as one of the favourites for the tournament, but are missing a number of key players from their Euro 2024 triumph, not least Carvajal. Nico Williams has also been laid low with injury, and there are doubts about the fitness of Fabian Ruiz and Mikel Merino.
