Spain manager assesses Merino and Carvajal World Cup chances

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has called Dani Carvajal one of the players that offers him the most guarantees, with a view to the veteran’s inclusion in his World Cup squad this summer. The 34-year-old right-back is one of a number of players that were key in La Roja’s 2024 triumph who are battling injuries.

In addition to Carvajal, who is yet to start since coming back from his knee problem that kept him out until January, Mikel Merino is currently recovering from surgery, while Marc Cucurella has been the latest to go down with injury. Nico Williams has been struggling with a sports hernia for much of the season too, and Samu Aghehowa has been ruled out with a cruciate ligament injury.

De la Fuente on Carvajal  – ‘We know what Dani is like’

Speaking after the Nations League draw on Thursday, de la Fuente was asked about his World Cup thoughts on Carvajal, who hit the headlines this week after expressing his frustration to manager Alvaro Arbeloa over his minutes.

“Whether he plays or not, that’s another matter that’s not my concern. But Dani is a sure thing; we know what he’s like and, if he’s meant to be there, he’ll be. Now what’s needed is for him to get playing time and regain his confidence,” he told Cadena SER.

“When Dani is healthy, he’s one of the players who offers me the most guarantee. Now, that doesn’t mean that, even if he’s healthy, he has to come, because there may be other players who are in better form.”

Mikel Merino injury has ‘no references’

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has also been ruled out with a stress fracture in his foot. There is some uncertainty over when he will come back.

“We have time to get the players with muscle injuries back in shape for the Finalissima. Unfortunately, injuries will occur in April or May.”

“Mikel has an injury for which there are no references. We are optimistic, and so is he, but we don’t know, the doctors don’t even know, how long it will take, whether he will be back in March, April, May. We also have injuries to Barrios, Cucurella, and Fabian, who are all dealing with some discomfort. This year is proving to be very demanding.”

De la Fuente on Joan Garcia and Spain’s goalkeepers

In recent months there has been a rising tide of calls for Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia to make it into the Spain squad, but Alex Remiro has also responded with fine form.

“Am I clear on the goalkeeping situation? I am, I don’t know about you. We’re very fortunate. We have six Spanish goalkeepers among the top ten in the world. We’ll assess the situation at any given time. Many people have only just discovered him [Joan Garcia], but he played for me in the under-21 team.”

Flick: “We didn’t play well in the first half. We didn’t play as a team, the spaces were very big, we didn’t press as we wanted. The second has been good and we have another match. We are capable of winning 2-0 in each half.”

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 12, 2026

Less than an hour before, Garcia was involved in Barcelona’s 4-0 thrashing against Atletico Madrid, in which a mistake gifted Los Colchoneros the lead. De la Fuente said that he had not seen the incident, but that ‘anyone can make a mistake’.