The Spanish team, on the verge of the 2026 World Cup that will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, is experiencing one of its most tense moments in recent years.
Lamine Yamal and Pedri, two of the indisputable pillars of La Roja and FC Barcelona, have led to unprecedented internal pressure for Eric García to be definitively included in the group that will travel to the World Cup.
Both players consider the Catalan centre-back as the best Spanish defender of the 2025/26 season and an essential element for World Cup aspirations. However, coach Luis de la Fuente has closed the door emphatically, generating a shock in the locker room and in the culé environment.
The context: Eric García, the reborn man who dominates Can Barça
Eric García, trained at La Masia and with a past at Manchester City, returned to FC Barcelona in the summer of 2024 in an operation that many considered low profile.
At 24 years old, the center back seemed destined to be a luxury substitute in a defense populated by Pau Cubarsí, Ronald Araujo, Jules Koundé and Iñigo Martínez. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In the 2025/26 season, under the orders of Hansi Flick, Eric García has undergone a spectacular transformation.
The undisputed starter at the back, he has played in 19 official games (17 as a starter), with 92% passing accuracy, 2.1 interceptions per game and an ability to play under pressure that has been key in Barça’s possession style.
His reading of the game, his clean start and his silent leadership have made him, for many analysts, the best Spanish center back of the moment.
Hansi Flick is full of praise: “Eric is one of the most intelligent players I have ever coached. “He understands football before everyone else.” In the Blaugrana locker room, his return to the elite level has been celebrated especially by the youth players.
Pedri and Lamine Yamal, who share concentration and friendship with him since the youth team, see him as an indispensable companion.
The pressure from within: Yamal and Pedri take the lead
According to sources close to the national team’s locker room, during the last concentrations in November and December (prior to the Christmas break), Lamine Yamal and Pedri have repeatedly insisted to Luis de la Fuente on the need to call up Eric García for the preparatory friendlies and, above all, for the World Cup.
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Lamine Yamal, for his part, has even commented in internal circles that “if Eric doesn’t go to the World Cup, we lose 20% of our chances of winning it.”
Both consider that the competition in defense (Laporte, Le Normand, Cubarsí, Vivian) should not leave out a player who, in their opinion, is above several of the usual players.
The pressure has not been limited to informal conversations. In the technical meetings and in the video analysis, Yamal and Pedri have highlighted specific plays by Eric García to argue for his inclusion. The message was clear: «This boy is at his best. “He deserves the World Cup.”
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The Rioja coach, known for his heavy hand and his commitment to meritocracy, has not given in.
In a staff meeting after the last break, De la Fuente would have been blunt: «I value Eric a lot, but the national team is not built only on the form of the club.
There are criteria of international experience, adaptation to the system and hierarchy. “There is no room for everyone who deserves it.”
De la Fuente maintains a solid defense based on Robin Le Normand (fixed since Euro 2024), Aymeric Laporte (for his leadership and career), Pau Cubarsí (the young phenomenon who is already indisputable) and Dean Huijsen or Dani Vivian as alternatives.
Eric García, despite his great season, has been used only twice since 2023: a friendly and a Nations League match. The coach prioritizes continuity and group chemistry over punctual form.
«I understand the pressure from Pedri and Lamine, they are teammates and they see it every day. But I have to look at the whole.
“Eric is excellent, but at this moment he is not part of my priority plans for the World Cup,” De la Fuente would have explained privately.
The decision has generated surprise and some frustration in the group, where several players (especially the culés) consider that a footballer in a state of grace is being ignored.
The repercussions on the wardrobe and the environment
De la Fuente’s refusal has opened a crack in the harmony of La Roja. Internal sources assure that Yamal and Pedri have not hidden their disappointment, although they maintain respect for the coach. “It’s your decision, but we don’t share it,” they would have commented in close circles.
In Barcelona, the news has fallen like a bomb. Joan Laporta and Deco see in Eric García a symbol of recovery of the youth squad identity, and consider it unfair that a player who shines at the club does not have opportunities in the national team.
Hansi Flick, for his part, has avoided entering into public controversy, but privately he would have conveyed to his players: “Keep working. “Football always puts things in their place.”
The culés fans, on social networks, have expressed their indignation: «First with Pedri and Gavi exploited, now with Eric ignored. What happens with the Barça players in the national team? Others defend De la Fuente: “The coach has to choose the best for Spain, not for Barça.”
Perspectives for the 2026 World Cup
Spain arrives at the World Cup as one of the favorites after the Euro 2024 title and an impeccable qualifying phase.
With Lamine Yamal as a world star, Pedri in his best version, Rodri (if he recovers), Nico Williams, Dani Olmo and a young and solid defense, La Roja aspires to everything. However, the absence of Eric García could be a weak point if there are injuries or drops in form.
De la Fuente has until May/June 2026 to define his final list of 26 players. Until then, Eric García will continue to demonstrate at Barça that he deserves a place. Yamal and Pedri do not plan to give up: they will continue to insist, even if it is silently.
What is clear is that this story is not over. In football, when two stars like Lamine and Pedri take up a cause… they usually get what they want. Or at least they try until the end.
There is a lot at stake for La Roja in 2026. And among their ranks, an internal battle for sporting justice that could mark the future of one of the best Spanish centre-backs of the moment.
