Real Madrid out of the final: Madrid celebrates only half-heartedly with Spain’s 2026 title
If Spain lift the trophy at the 2026 World Cup, the streets of Madrid will celebrate — but with an asterisk. The city is living divided: while Atlético de Madrid send three players to the champion squad, Real Madrid do not have a single representative in the team that will play the final. It is the first time in history that the country’s most successful club is left completely out of a national team at a World Cup.
Atlético shine where their rival vanish
The rojiblancos have become the club that contributed the most players to the final on the Argentine side. There are six Atlético athletes in the Albiceleste: Nahuel Molina, Nico González and Julián Álvarez are the best known, but the list goes further. In the Spanish squad, the Metropolitano club appear with Álex Baena, Marcos Llorente and Marc Pubill. Three pieces. It is not Barça — who dominate the team with eight direct call-ups, a number that rises above ten if we count those developed at La Masia — but it is already a source of pride for the red-and-white half of the city.
De la Fuente and the veto on the Bernabéu
Real Madrid’s exclusion was no accident. Coach Luis de la Fuente made a deliberate decision before the tournament: no Merengue player on the list. Instead, he called up eight Barcelona athletes and a series of representatives of Basque football — Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Osasuna make up another significant bloc in the national team. Spain, in practice, was divided between Catalans, Basques and a handful of others. Madrid, the country’s capital, was left out of that calculation.
De la Fuente is 65 and has a 13-year career in the national youth setup. He grew up in Haro, on the border with the Basque Country, a region with its own strong footballing identity. His technical criteria are clear — and they do not run through the Bernabéu. Real had at least four Spaniards with the quality for the World Cup: Gonzalo García, Raúl Asencio, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras. All cut.
Cucurella, the gold medal and a FIFA detail
There is a curious detail in this story: when Cucurella received his gold medal, he was still listed as a Chelsea player in the records. Real Madrid do not appear anywhere.
And it is not just bureaucracy. Cucurella came from La Masia. He is a product of the rival, adopted late. The symbolism says everything about the current relationship between the club and the national team.
Real and their 10 players: a lot of noise, little result
The club had ten athletes at the 2026 World Cup — but scattered across national teams that did not go far. Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot, but France fell in the semi-finals, and with them went the forward’s chances of fighting for the Ballon d’Or. Aurélien Tchouaméni also fell short of expectations. Among those who disappointed: Antonio Rüdiger, Federico Valverde, Arda Güler, Endrick and David Alaba. Players who played well but without a collective result: Vinícius Júnior, Brahim Díaz, Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham.
In club football, Real remain the biggest in the world. At the 2026 World Cup, however, they were left out of both sides of the final. And when Spain become champions — if they do — the white half of Madrid will have to cheer for their neighbour’s title.
