De la Fuente names World Cup winners for Wembley tie on 26 September
Luis de la Fuente named his first Spain squad since the World Cup and will take the reigning world champions to Wembley to face England on 26 September. The coach stressed the World Cup triumph alone will not sustain further results.
De la Fuente kept substantial continuity from the New Jersey winners: of the 26 who lifted the trophy, only four were omitted. Marcos Llorente has announced his international retirement; Joan García is injured; Borja Iglesias is not fully fit; and Gavi is suspended for Wembley, although he could have featured against Croatia and Czechia. Fermín López returns after missing the World Cup through injury, and the squad includes Josep Martínez, Dean Huijsen and Roberto Fernández; Pedro Porro then pulled out and was replaced by Iván Fresneda.
“I’m going to tell you a story,” Luis de la Fuente said, recounting events immediately after the final on 19 July. He described how, “just two or three minutes after the final, one of the players…came up to me and said: ‘Mister, now what? What’s left to win?’” De la Fuente recalled answering: “Bloody hell, the game against England at Wembley on 26 September.” The remarks came on a Friday afternoon at Las Rozas when he named the squad.
De la Fuente defended his selection policy and continuity. “How could there not be continuity with players who are champions of everything?” he asked, noting the season has not given others time to press their claims. He identified three strong candidates for the spare striker role — Sergio Camello and Carlos Espí competing with Espanyol’s Fernández — while saying that plenty of players are “knocking at the door” and it is up to them to walk through it and into the house.
On goalkeeping, De la Fuente pointed to Inter’s Josep Martínez as a familiar face despite his relative youth: Martínez officially holds a senior cap from when Spain’s under-21s, managed by De la Fuente, stepped in for the senior side before the pandemic-postponed Euros in the summer of 2021. When asked about Unai Simón’s status, De la Fuente said: “Unai was recognised as the best goalkeeper at the World Cup, he broke every record, etc. Maybe, just maybe, he has to be given some continuity.”
Spain arrive at Wembley carrying successive major titles — they are world and European champions and have also won the Nations League — but De la Fuente recalled the sting of losing the second Nations League final in June 2025 on penalties to Portugal after winning the competition in 2023. He said he does not like the new international break of four games in 11 days, but that he values the Nations League and wants to win it. At Las Rozas and across Spain supporters have paid tribute: eight of the squad name the Camp Nou as home, Ferran Torres threw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium and appears frequently on US television, his MetLife celebration image is plastered on the dressing-room wall at Spain’s HQ, and an extra star has been added to the team badge around their base.
De la Fuente set out his personal history and contract situation alongside his squad message: he joined the Spain setup 13 years ago on a three-month under-19 contract after more than a year unemployed, became a European champion at under-19 and under-21 level, took over the senior side in 2022 and has reached every final. His deal was extended to 2032 this week. “This team won’t stop; it wants more and more, to be the best,” De la Fuente said. “I will tell them that too. What we did at the World Cup is not enough to keep us winning games or to beat England. You have to be better. That’s our culture and our mentality, our attitude, so I have no doubts and no worries. We know Spain are the team to beat, we know that it makes things harder, but it motivates us and we’re ready for it. Success is not winning; it is being in a position where you can win. And I would back these players, always. You can follow them to the end of the world.”
Spain’s immediate task is clear: they travel to Wembley to play England on 26 September, and Gavi will be suspended for that fixture.