Just before the World Cup squad was announced, Dean Huijsen sent a clear message to the Spain manager.
Dean Huijsen shared a message on Instagram after unexpectedly being left out of Spain’s World Cup squad. The European champions announced their 26-man team for the tournament in North America on Monday morning, with coach Luis de la Fuente making some surprising choices.
The biggest shock was that Real Madrid defender Huijsen, who switched from the Netherlands to Spain and has played seven times for Spain, didn’t make the cut. Despite playing 40 games in his first season at Real Madrid after transferring from AFC Bournemouth, he won’t be at his first World Cup this summer. This marks the first time ever that no Real Madrid players are included in Spain’s World Cup team.
Before the squad was revealed, Huijsen shared on Instagram that he had been named in Sofascore’s team of the season. He reposted the graphic from his dad, Don, showing he was listed alongside teammates like Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Federico Valverde. Interestingly, his fellow Spaniards Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia, who won La Liga with Barcelona, made the World Cup squad even though Huijsen had better stats than them.
Barcelona also has several players in the squad, including Joan Garcia, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, and young talent Lamine Yamal—though Yamal might miss Spain’s first game against Cape Verde. Huijsen wasn’t the only one left out by de la Fuente; Dani Carvajal wasn’t included either, after recently returning from injury. Atletico Madrid’s Robin Le Normand and Alvaro Morata, who captained Spain to Euro 2024 success, were also left off the team.
Other notable players missing from the squad include Arsenal’s Cristhian Mosquera, Isco, Alejandro Balde, Fran Garcia, Gonzalo Garcia, Pablo Barrios, and Aleix Garcia.
Here’s a quick look at the squad:
Goalkeepers: Unai Simón, David Raya, Joan García
Defenders: Marc Cucurella, Alejandro Grimaldo, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Pubill, Eric García, Marcos Llorente, Pedro Porro
Midfielders: Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, Martín Zubimendi, Gavi, Rodrigo Hernández, Álex Baena, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal
Forwards: Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Yeremy Pino, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Víctor Muñoz, Lamine Yamal
Spain are one of the favorites to win the tournament. Before the World Cup starts, they’ll play friendly matches against Iraq and Mexico. Their campaign kicks off in Group H with a game against Cape Verde in Atlanta, followed by a match against Saudi Arabia at the same stadium six days later. They will finish the group stage playing Uruguay at Akron Stadium in Mexico on June 21.