Spain is the first team to announce their World Cup squad numbers, and it’s got everyone talking!
Spain has become the first country to announce squad numbers for their 26 players heading to this summer’s World Cup—and some of the choices have really caught people’s attention on social media.
Last month, coach Luis de la Fuente revealed his Spain team for the tournament in North America, including players like David Raya, Marc Cucurella, and Rodri, along with eight Barcelona stars.
Spain are coming into the World Cup with good form. De la Fuente even called his team one of the favorites, alongside two other countries. “We have to stay grounded, even though we are favorites,” he said. “But we’re just as much favorites as England or France.”
On Monday night, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) shared the squad numbers ahead of Thursday’s friendly against Iraq.
As you’ll see below, Arsenal’s David Raya got the coveted number one shirt, but the biggest buzz is around midfielder Gavi wearing the number nine jersey, which usually goes to a striker.
Gavi’s Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal will wear number 19, while key players Nico Williams (17) and Mikel Oyarzabal (21) also have sizable numbers. Defenders Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi, who started Spain’s recent World Cup qualifier against Turkey, have numbers 14 and 22.
Dani Olmo takes the famous number 10 shirt, previously worn by legends like Raul, Fernando Torres, and Cesc Fabregas.
Fans quickly shared their thoughts online. One wrote, “Haha, the 7, 10, and 11 are Ferran, Olmo, and Pino, but the starting forwards wear 19, 21, and 17. The center backs are 22 and 14. And the 9 is a midfielder. What a vibe!”
Another said, “Gavi wearing 9 is the most buzzkill thing I’ve seen,” while a third added, “What’s going on with Gavi at 9 and Olmo at 10? None of these numbers seem right.”
Others were blunt: “Those jersey numbers don’t make sense,” and “Gavi with 9? That’s for a center forward. So weird putting it on a midfielder.”
Here’s the full list of squad numbers:
1: David Raya
2: Marc Pubill
3: Alejandro Grimaldo
4: Eric García
5: Marcos Llorente
6: Mikel Merino
7: Ferran Torres
8: Fabián Ruiz
9: Gavi
10: Dani Olmo
11: Yeremy Pino
12: Pedro Porro
13: Joan García
14: Aymeric Laporte
15: Álex Baena
16: Rodri
17: Nico Williams
18: Martín Zubimendi
19: Lamine Yamal
20: Pedri
21: Mikel Oyarzabal
22: Pau Cubarsí
23: Unai Simón
24: Marc Cucurella
25: Víctor Muñoz
26: Borja Iglesias