Dean Huijsen sent pointed message to Spain manager minutes before World Cup squad omission
Dean Huijsen's message on Instagram has emerged after he was a surprise omission from Spain's World Cup squad.
The European champions' 26-man squad for the showpiece in North America was announced on Monday morning, with Luis de la Fuente leaving out a number of big names.
Undoubtedly the most shocking call was the decision to leave out Real Madrid defender Huijsen, who switched international allegiance from the Netherlands and has been capped seven times for Spain.
He played 40 times in his debut season for Real after signing from AFC Bournemouth but will not be playing in his first World Cup this summer.
Advert
For the first time in history, there is not a single representative from Real in Spain's squad at a World Cup.
Before the announcement was live, Huijsen took to Instagram to share that he had been included in Sofascore's team of the season.
Huijsen reposted the graphic from his father Don, which showed that he was included alongside club teammates Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde.
His compatriots Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia, who won La Liga with Barcelona, were both included in the team and Spain's squad for the World Cup even though Huijsen had a better rating than them when it comes to statistics.
Other representatives from the Blaugrana include Joan Garcia, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and wonderkid Lamine Yamal - despite the latter being a major doubt for Spain's first game against Cape Verde.
READ MORE: 'I have to earn it...' - Former Premier League star turns down last-minute World Cup call-up
Who was left out of Spain's World Cup squad?
Initially in the 55-man preliminary squad, Huijsen wasn't the only player to be left disappointed by the thinking from manager De la Fuente - with Dani Carvajal not considered after ending a glittering time with Real having only just returned to fitness.
Atletico Madrid defender Robin Le Normand has also been left out, as has Alvaro Morata - who captained Spain to glory at Euro 2024.
The former Chelsea, Juventus and Atletico Madrid striker did not score a single goal in Serie A for Cesc Fabregas' Como, who secured Champions League football for the first time.
Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera, Isco, Alejandro Balde, Fran Garcia, Gonzalo Garcia, Pablo Barrios and Aleix Garcia are some of the other notable omissions.
Spain's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup in full
Goalkeepers: Unai Simón, David Raya, Joan García
Defenders: Marc Cucurella, Alejandro Grimaldo, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Pubill, Eric García, Marcos Llorente, Pedro Porro
Midfielders: Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, Martín Zubimendi, Gavi, Rodrigo Hernández, Álex Baena, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal
Forwards: Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Yeremy Pino, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Víctor Muñoz, Lamine Yamal
One of the favourites for the tournament, Spain will play two friendlies against Iraq and Mexico in the build-up.
The 2010 winners will then kick off their campaign in Group H against Cape Verde in Atlanta before taking on Saudi Arabia in the same stadium six days later.
Their group stage concludes with a clash against Uruguay at the Akron Stadium in Mexico on 21 June.
Topics: Spain, Football World Cup
Josh Lawless