Dani Carvajal's World Cup Hopes: Luis de la Fuente's Challenge
Luis de la Fuente has left the World Cup door ajar for Dani Carvajal – but made it clear the veteran right back will have to force it open himself.
Carvajal, 34, picked up a foot problem in training with Real Madrid last week, an untimely setback in a season already short on minutes as he battles Trent Alexander-Arnold for the right-back slot at the Bernabéu. With his contract running down and his international place under scrutiny, the timing could hardly be worse.
Yet De la Fuente is not ready to close the book.
“Carvajal is a very important figure in our dressing room,” the Spain coach said on Wednesday, underlining the defender’s status in a squad that has increasingly moved on to a younger generation.
De la Fuente revealed he spoke to the defender on Tuesday and came away with a measure of reassurance.
According to the coach, Carvajal is not carrying a specific, serious injury, but he does need time. Time to heal. Time to regain rhythm. Time to look like Dani Carvajal again.
That is where the uncertainty lies. Spain’s World Cup squad will be shaped not by reputation but by what De la Fuente sees in the final stretch of the season.
“We’ll see in the remaining matches whether he truly gets the opportunity and delivers the performances,” the coach said, laying down the conditions as plainly as possible. Carvajal’s place in the plane to North America will be earned, not gifted.
World Cup countdown, no guarantees
The stakes are obvious. Spain open their World Cup campaign against Cape Verde on June 15 and will also face Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H. De la Fuente wants clarity long before then.
Carvajal’s situation is complicated by his recent international record. He has made just one appearance for Spain in 2025, a stark contrast to the years when his name was inked into the team sheet. At 34, and with limited club minutes this season, he is no longer the automatic choice he once was.
De la Fuente stressed that the defender understands the reality. The World Cup, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, will not bend to sentiment. If Carvajal cannot prove his fitness and form, the coach is prepared to leave him behind.
He would not be alone. The Real Madrid full-back joins a growing list of players hit by injuries in the weeks leading up to the tournament, with Spain teammate Lamine Yamal among those facing a race against time. Every training session now carries an edge; every niggle feels like a threat.
For Carvajal, the coming weeks are brutally simple: get fit, get sharp, and convince his national coach that there is still one more major tournament in those legs. Otherwise, one of the defining right backs of his era may watch Spain’s World Cup from afar, wondering if his last chance slipped away on a training pitch in Madrid.
