'Joan's time will come' - De la Fuente defends Garcia's Spain omission

Luis de la Fuente has defended his decision to leave Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia out of Spain's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

De la Fuente named his 26-man party for their clashes with Bulgaria and Turkiye, which take place on September 4 and 7, with Garcia a notable absence, despite impressing for much of last season.

Gacria looked poised to earn a maiden call-up for the national side after stand-out performances for Espanyol in 2024-25, which earned him a move to Barcelona in June.

He made 146 saves in LaLiga last season, the second-most saves in Europe's top five leagues during that time behind Mark Flekken.

But De la Fuente has opted to go with Unai Simon, David Raya and Alex Remiro as his options between the sticks.

"If I'd felt pressure, I would have brought him in," De la Fuente said.

"We monitor all the goalkeepers, and Joan could be here now, before, or in the future. And not because he's at Barca. I want to tell you that players from clubs don't come here; this is the national team, regardless of the club they come from.

"Let's not make assumptions about whether six or seven come from one club… Let's give this importance. Joan's time will come, for sure."

There are call-ups for Rodri and Dani Carvajal, who are back in the fold having recovered from their respective anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.

There are also six Barcelona players in the squad, with the likes of Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal also included.

Gavi had been included in the initial squad, but has since withdrawn due to a knee injury, which will also keep him out of Barcelona's match against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

Fermin's future is currently up in the air, with some reports linking him with a move to Chelsea in the final days of the transfer window, and De la Fuente seemed to urge the 22-year-old to remain at Barcelona.

"What would I say to him? It's very personal; he has to weigh up a lot of things," De la Fuente said of Fermin.

"In football, there's supply and demand, with the economic factor, I think, being secondary. The sporting aspect comes first; I don't know what he’s discussed with the club.

"From the outside, I can't really give an opinion, but I'd like Spanish players to be in our league. I regret it when they go abroad because I think they'd make LaLiga more competitive here, which for me is the best in the world."

Spain squad:

Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Robin Le Normand (Atletico Madrid), Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid), Dani Vivian (Athletic Bilbao), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Zubimendi (Arsenal), Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain), Pedri (Barcelona), Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Fermin Lopez (Barcelona), Alvaro Morata (Como), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Dani Olmo (Barcelona), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Yeremy Pino (Villarreal), Jesus Rodriguez (Como).