Luis de la Fuente named a 26-man Spain squad for World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria (Sept 4) and Turkey (Sept 7), excluding goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Garcia moved to Barcelona in June after standout performances for Espanyol and made 146 LaLiga saves last season, the second-most in Europe's top five leagues behind Mark Flekken. De la Fuente selected Unai Simón, David Raya and Alex Remiro as the goalkeeper options. Rodri and Dani Carvajal return after ACL recoveries. Six Barcelona players were included: Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Fermin López, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal. Gavi withdrew with a knee injury.
"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."
He made 146 saves in LaLiga last season, the second-most saves in Europe's top five leagues during that time behind Mark Flekken.
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