Inside Spain’s World Cup roster 2026: Lamine Yamal ready for tournament but no Real Madrid players named

Spain are expected to go deep at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the reigning European champions.

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Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal was the star turn at Euro 2024, but head coach Luis de la Fuente has a talent-stacked squad at his disposal, boasting plenty of experience.

However, that has not been much of a guarantee for La Roja in recent tournaments, with three fairly dismal showings since standing on the top step of the podium in 2010.

The Sporting News has all the key details on Spain’s World Cup squad below.

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Spain World Cup roster 2026

De la Fuente named his final squad on May 25. Teams had until Monday, May 11 to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which they are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.

Caps and stats are correct as of May 25.

Spain injuries ahead of World Cup

Spain’s big concern centred around Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal, who missed the final month of the season with a hamstring injury. However, the teenage winger is expected to be ready for the opening match of the tournament.

De la Fuente says the same applies to Nico Williams. Lamine Yamal and Williams thrilled for Spain at Euro 2024, but the Athletic Club favourite has also been laid low by hamstring trouble.

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has made the cut despite missing four months with a broken foot. Lamine’s Barcelona team-mate Fermin Lopez is recovering from a broken foot of his own and misses out.

Spain players to watch at World Cup

Lamine Yamal is the obvious one to mention here, following his breakout displays at Euro 2024 and second-place finish in last year’s Ballon d’Or behind Ousmane Dembele. This could be the tournament that establishes the teenager as the consensus best player in the world.

Pau Cubarsi missed out on Euro 2024 despite being named in the preliminary Spain squad, instead going on to help his country to an Olympic gold medal. Still only 19, it’s remarkable the extent to which this exceptional centre-back is part of the furniture for club and country.

Osasuna winger Victor Munoz is the bolter in the group, and could be useful during the early stages of the tournament as Spain manage Lamine Yamal and Williams’ fitness.

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Remarkably, there will be no Real Madrid players to watch in their country’s famous red jersey, as De la Fuente named a Spain World Cup squad without a single Los Blancos representative for the first time in their history.

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Who is Spain coach at the World Cup?

De le Fuente might be the archetype of the modern international manager.

The relentless rigours of the club game mean entirely different rhythms, and several leading club coaches over recent years have flattered to deceive on the international stage. 

Luis Enrique has won the Champions League with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, but his lone World Cup with Spain in Qatar ended in disappointment.

In came De le Fuente, a man with extensive experience working in Spain’s youth categories and who last coached in club football at Alaves in 2011, stepped into the breach and led Spain to their fourth European title at Euro 2024.

Can Spain replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According  (page 32), «a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team’s first match.»

Spain World Cup history

Spain were one of the great what-if teams of World Cup history until 2010. A major football nation, boasting some of the world’s greatest clubs, but without so much as a semifinal appearance to their name.

But the stars aligned in South Africa when Vicente del Bosque led the reigning European champion to glory. The nucleus of the team came from Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona side of 2008-2012, with a sprinkling of a similarly excellent Real Madrid generation.

Since that moment of realisation, Spain’s World Cup performances have been underwhelming. They were dumped out in the group stage in 2014, lost to hosts Russia on penalties in the first knockout round four years later. They suffered the same fate against Morocco at Qatar 2022. 

• Current FIFA World Ranking: 1 (April 2026)
• World Cup titles: 1
• World Cup appearances (last): 16 (Qatar 2022)
• How Spain qualified, W-L-D: UEFA Group E winners: 5W-0L-1D
• World Cup record:
  • Games: 67 GP (31 W, 17 D, 19 L)
  • Goal differential: +33 (232 GS, 108 GA 75)

Spain World Cup schedule

Spain, as a Pot 1 team, were drawn into Group H. Their competitors in the group will be Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

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Spain and Group H match schedule

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