Spain’s World Cup 2026 team preview: Players to watch, group matches, squad

Previous World Cup appearances: 16
Best performance: Winners (2010)
First appearance: 1934 (Italy)
Top extremity scorer: David Villa (9)
Most appearances: Sergio Busquets, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos (17)
Player to watch: Lamine Yamal
FIFA satellite ranking: 2

The reigning European champions arguably boast the finest postulation of Spanish endowment since the 2008 and 2012 aureate procreation that swept each earlier them, and arguably travel into the 2026 World Cup arsenic the squad to beat.

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This perchance caller aureate procreation is adjacent younger and arguably boasts much extent than the last, and Spain person moved connected from their tiki-taka heyday to instil a faster, much nonstop benignant nether the dependable tutelage of manager Luis de la Fuente.

However, Spain bash person weaknesses and are nether sizeable pressure to deliver, particularly aft respective caller World Cup let-downs.

Incredibly, La Roja person failed to advancement beyond the past 16 successful the World Cup since their 1 and lone triumph successful 2010.

Whether they tin construe their endowment into lifting the eventual footballing prize for the 2nd clip is their defining question earlier this tournament.

Spain’s main man

Their cleanable tally to the 2024 Euros trophy demonstrated however acold up they were of Europe’s elite, arsenic they bushed England, France and hosts Germany.

Spain person present gone 28 games unbeaten successful mean clip since March 2024, though determination is simply a flimsy blemish connected that grounds aft they mislaid to Portugal connected penalties successful the 2025 Nations League final.

Barcelona’s prima close winger Lamine Yamal broke done astatine Euro 2024 astatine the property of 16, registering 4 assists and scoring 1 of the goals of the tournament, and has lone gotten amended since to go the world’s astir breathtaking young player.

This season, Yamal has lit up La Liga and the Champions League with his performances, scoring 16 league goals and grabbing 11 assists on the way, portion getting 5 goals and 4 assists successful Europe.

But helium is lone human. Yamal is inactive precise young – helium volition not crook 19 until a fewer days earlier the last – and has felt the unit and vexation astatine times this season, lashing retired erstwhile things person not gone his way.

He besides comes into the tourney disconnected a agelong play that featured respective injuries, including missing the extremity of the play with a hamstring problem, though helium should beryllium good to play successful Spain’s opening game. So La Roja volition person to support their prize plus if they are to prosper.

Barcelona predominate arsenic Real Madrid players cut

Lamal is 1 of 8 players from the Catalan nine successful the squad, portion Spain volition spell to a World Cup without a Real Madrid subordinate for the archetypal clip – with the likes of Dean Huijsen and Dani Carvajal failing to marque the cut.

De la Fuente played down the lack of Madrid players.

“I’m the manager and I don’t look astatine wherever the players travel from. They’re nationalist squad players; I don’t look astatine 1 nine oregon another. I don’t person the aforesaid section bias that a instrumentality mightiness have. All I privation is for these players to consciousness arrogant to correspond the nationalist team,” de la Fuente told reporters.

He added: “Excitement is the ⁠keyword. Passion.

“The absorption of radical each implicit Spain – adults ⁠and children alike – is that they are afloat down the nationalist team.”

Rodri inactive astatine bosom of almighty midfield

Manchester City and Spain’s Ballon D’Or victor Rodri tends to beryllium the beating bosom of his teams and a cardinal steadying beingness linking defence and attack.

However, helium has not rather been the aforesaid unit since an ACL wounded successful September 2024, and has often struggled for signifier and fittingness since. He has besides appeared unsettled astatine City this season, with his declaration ending this summer, and amid rumours helium is angling for a determination to Real Madrid.

De la Fuente’s alternatives to Rodri, specified arsenic Martin Zubimenti of Arsenal, look obscurity adjacent arsenic commanding, truthful the Spanish manager volition privation the talismanic Rodri acceptable and focused for a agelong tourney that would agelong to 8 games if they scope the final.

Other fittingness concerns

Pedri and Fabian Ruiz volition apt implicit the midfield alongside Rodri, with the likes of Mikel Merino and Dani Olmo arsenic backmost up – if fit. Pedri successful peculiar appears to person gotten backmost to his scintillating champion for Barca this play aft a lengthy wounded layoff.

But Rodri’s fittingness is acold from Spain’s lone fittingness worry. Merino, who was Spain’s apical scorer successful qualifying, had country connected a accent fracture successful his close ft successful February and whitethorn not retrieve successful clip for the tournament.

Fabian Ruiz has returned from a genu injury, portion Nico Williams appears to person flooded a hamstring wounded successful clip for the opener.

Spain’s fig 9 gap

In the tiki-taka era, station David Villa and Raul, it did not substance excessively overmuch that Spain did not person an elite specializer centre forward. It was not a occupation astatine Euro 2024 either, wherever striker Alvaro Morata lifted the trophy arsenic skipper but mostly failed to present connected the pitch.

That does not mean that it mightiness not crook retired to beryllium a weakness – if Yamal and Nico Williams are not capable to tally riot connected the flanks owed to wounded oregon a nonaccomplishment of form, lacking a world-class centre guardant dulls the menace somewhat.

Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyazabal has scored a creditable 15 La Liga goals truthful acold this play and whitethorn beryllium the champion acceptable for the fig 9 shirt, but there’s inactive the consciousness that helium is not rather world-class.

De la Fuente could crook to Ferran Torres – who scored 16 La Liga goals for Barca successful 2025/26 – but helium is besides inconsistent and unproven connected the biggest stage.

How does Spain’s radical look?

La Roja commencement with what should beryllium their easiest crippled successful Group H arsenic they look minnows Cape Verde, who are ranked 69th successful the satellite and are astatine their archetypal ever World Cup.

Saudi Arabia are susceptible of causing an upset – spot their decision of Argentina successful Qatar – but volition apt beryllium blown distant by Spain’s prime and power.

Uruguay airs the stiffest test, and Spain volition person to look them successful the unrelenting vigor of Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Uruguayans are ever carnal and committed. Coach Marcel Bielsa volition springiness them an added unpredictability and tactical nous to instrumentality vantage of their endowment successful the likes of Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, Barca’s Ronald Araujo, and the awkward and mercurial Darwin Nunez. Spain should inactive person acold excessively overmuch endowment for Bielsa’s side, though.

Spain’s radical signifier matches

⚽ June 15: Spain vs Cape Verde (Atlanta, Georgia), 12pm ET (16:00 GMT)
⚽ June 21: Spain vs Saudi Arabia (Atlanta, Georgia), 12pm ET (16:00 GMT)
⚽ June 26: Uruguay vs Spain (Guadalajara, Mexico), 8pm ET (00:00 GMT)

Al Jazeera’s prediction

Champions.

Spain person the astir starting XI successful the world, with a caller emerging aureate procreation that is young, bare and already accustomed to winning. If their stars are acceptable and firing, La Roja volition beryllium precise hard to stop.

Spain’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Joan Garcia (Barcelona)

Defenders: Pedro Porro (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Marc Pubill (Atletico Madrid), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao), Eric ‌Garcia (Barcelona), ‌Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal), Gavi (Barcelona), Pedri (Barcelona), Fabian Ruiz (Paris St Germain), Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Alex Baena (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Yeremy Pino (Crystal Palace), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Victor Munoz (Osasuna), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Borja Iglesias (Celta).

The FIFA World Cup begins connected June 11. You tin travel the enactment connected Al Jazeera’s dedicated World Cup 2026 page with each the latest news, lucifer build-up and unrecorded substance commentary, and support up to day with radical standings, real-time lucifer results and schedules.