Jorge de Frutos Replaces Injured Ander Barrenetxea in Spain’s Nations League Squad

Luis de la Fuente has called up Jorge de Frutos to replace the injured Ander Barrenetxea in Spain’s squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against the Republic of Czech and England.

Barrenetxea, who was one of the new faces in the last Spain squad, will not join the national team’s concentration after the Real Sociedad winger left the field injured and in tears during the match against Rayo Vallecano.

Due to this setback, De la Fuente has turned to De Frutos to cover for the injured player. Spain, the reigning world champions, will play their final two group stage matches of the Nations League next week. The team is already qualified for the quarter-finals but has not yet secured first place in the group and aims to confirm its leadership.

De Frutos Returns to the National Team Roster

By calling up De Frutos, Luis de la Fuente has once again placed his trust in the Rayo Vallecano attacker. De Frutos returns to the national team roster, as he was called up over a year ago, in September 2025, also due to a teammate’s injury, in that case Yéremi Pino.

De Frutos made his debut with the senior national team in that same period during a World Cup qualifier against Turkey. He is now being called up again and will join the rest of the convocados this Monday, November 9, at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas.

The Rayo player was on Luis De la Fuente's preliminary list for the last World Cup, although he did not make the final squad. The injury to Barrenetxea occurred in the 70th minute of Sunday’s match after he felt discomfort in his thigh, visibly affecting him as he left the pitch at Anoeta.

Upcoming Matches

Spain will play two matches this upcoming week, the final games of the Nations League group stage. The first will be in Prague against the Republic of Czech on Thursday, November 12, and the second at the Metropolitano against England on Sunday, November 15. The world champion team will conclude these two matches in the special year of 2026, marked by winning the World Cup.

Spain is already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, which will be played in two-legged ties in March, although it has not yet secured first place in the group. It is most likely that the match against England in Madrid will decide that first place.

Updated Squad

Following this change, the Spain squad is as follows: Goalkeepers: Unai Simón, Raya, Joan Garcia, Álvaro Valles. Defenders: Laporte, Cubarsí, Pubill, Huijsen, Porro, Jacobo, Cucurella, Grimaldo. Centrocampistas: Fabián, Pedri, Merino, Zubimendi, Baena, Fermín, Barrios, Marc Roca. Forwards: Oyarzabal, Ferran, Roberto, Lamine, Nico Williams, Yeremy and De Frutos.

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