A record-breaking call-up

Luis de la Fuente's call-up for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada has left a historic fact: for the first time in the history of this tournament, the Spanish National Team will not include any Real Madrid players.

The coach announced the final list of 26 players on Monday, and despite names like Dean Huijsen, Fran García, and Gonzalo García appearing in the preliminary list of 55, none managed to stay on the final roster. The most striking case is that of Huijsen, who debuted with the senior team in March 2025 and seemed to have a secured spot. However, his inconsistency at the white club ultimately left him out of the World Cup.

No players from Real Madrid

De la Fuente was blunt when explaining his decision: "Fortunately, I am the national coach, I don't look at the origin of any player. I only look at whether a player has the possibility to play with us. I don't look at their team." With those words, he rejected any suspicion of bias based on the jersey each player wears.

Historical record

The contrast with history is evident. The minimum record of Madridista presence in a World Cup dates back to 1950, when Luis Molowny was the only representative. In Qatar 2022, Luis Enrique included Dani Carvajal and Marco Asensio, although the former missed the tournament due to injury. And in the Euro 2021, also under Luis Enrique's direction, Spain played without Real Madrid representatives, but in that case, the absences were due to physical problems of Carvajal and Sergio Ramos.

The difference now is considerable, there are no injuries to explain the absence. It is the first time that, with all the players available, Spain faces a World Cup without a Madrid presence. A fact that marks a break in tradition and that, without a doubt, will be a topic of debate in the lead-up to a tournament that is already beginning to be written with unprecedented chapters.

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