With three games to go in La Liga, more than a few minds are occupied by a spot at the World Cup. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has until the 30th of May to name his 26-man squad for the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer, and there is plenty of competition for places.
De la Fuente declared in March that he had 20-22 of his places in the squad decided already, but it seems that Barcelona midfielder Gavi has secured one of those spots. That is according to Diario AS, who say that the 21-year-old’s performances over the past month have played him back into consideration for La Roja. He will be joined by Barcelona teammates Pau Cubarsi and goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
Raphinha, Koundé, Eric, Gavi and Olmo during the bus parade through the city. [@FCBarcelona] pic.twitter.com/qRfUMsHXPO
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 11, 2026
De la Fuente close to deciding defensive options
It is noted that Pedro Porro, Marcos Llorente, Marc Cucurella and Alejandro Grimaldo will be the full-backs, leaving Dani Carvajal without his spot. Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen and Athletic Club’s Aymeric Laporte will be alongside Cubarsi, with doubts over the fourth centre-back spot.
Robin Le Normand is in competition with Atletico Madrid teammate Marc Pubill for that spot, but AS continue on to say that another Atletico player, Alex Baena, is also a doubt for de la Fuente. He has no doubts about his quality, but his first season at the Metropolitano has been inconsistent.
BREAKING: Johnny Cardoso will undergo surgery on his right ankle and will miss the World Cup.
Get well soon, Johnny!
pic.twitter.com/NpRZkt3CiX
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) May 11, 2026
Competition for places in Spain squad
After it was revealed yesterday that Alberto Moleiro, Victor Munoz and Jorge de Frutos were in the 55-man longlist, Marca add Ander Barrenetxea, Aleix Garcia, Carlos Soler, Yeremy Pino and Jesus Rodriguez to the list of options. In case of injury at the full-back spots, Braga’s Victor Gomez and Real Sociedad’s Sergio Gomez are in the long-list too. On top of Pubill and Le Normand, de la Fuente is looking at Pau Torres, Cristhian Mosquera, Dani Vivian and Eric Garcia.
It is set to be a difficult decision for de la Fuente, who has a number of injury concerns to contend with too. Nico Williams will return in time from his current injury, but has been battling fitness issues all season, while Fabian Ruiz appears to be back to full fitness. Less certain is the state of Mikel Merino, a key part of the Euro 2024 side, but yet to play for Arsenal after his foot injury.
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