Why Dani Carvajal is missing the 2026 World Cup for Spain

Spain is gearing up for a high-stakes campaign in the 2026 World Cup, hunting for the second trophy in the nation’s history. However, La Roja will be missing one of its most decorated modern legends. Real Madrid icon Dani Carvajal will not be with the squad, as manager Luis de la Fuente made the executive decision to leave the veteran defender off the final roster.

Instead of relying on the Carvajal, De la Fuente opted to hand the right-back responsibilities to Tottenham’s Pedro Porro and Atletico Madrid’s Marcos Llorente. The snub was definitive; Carvajal didn’t even make the cut for Spain’s preliminary 55-man provisional pool.

When announcing his final 26-man tournament roster, De la Fuente addressed the high-profile absences of both Carvajal and forward Alvaro Morata (who missed out following his season with Como), making sure to emphasize that their international careers aren’t necessarily over.

“Their cycle is not over,” De la Fuente stated. “Better times will come when I can count on them again. They have left an indelible legacy of gentility, personality, leadership, and captaincy with capital letters”.

A frustrating final season in Madrid

The World Cup omission marks a bittersweet conclusion to a grueling domestic campaign for Carvajal. It was far from the ideal farewell season the 34-year-old envisioned as he wrapped up a legendary 13-year chapter with Real Madrid—a historic run that yielded 27 major trophies and saw him tie Paco Gento’s record with six Champions League titles.

Unfortunately for the veteran, his body simply didn’t cooperate during his final year at the Santiago Bernabéu. A severe muscle injury during the fall derailed his start to the season, forcing him to miss the opening stretch of the Champions League alongside some LaLiga fixtures.

The nightmare deepened just after his initial return to full fitness. Carvajal managed to feature in just a single El Clásico against Barcelona before a knee injury sidelined him yet again.

That knee setback sidelined him for an additional 12 matches across all competitions. By the time he successfully worked his way back onto the pitch, he had lost his place in Madrid’s starting XI.

Restrained to just 23 total appearances over the entire club season, Carvajal’s lack of match sharpness and durability concerns made it impossible for Luis de la Fuente to justify a spot for him on the plane to the World Cup.