Barcelona star in line for shock call-up to Spain World Cup squad

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.

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.