One Arab player… You won’t believe it. The two Spanish stars were left out of the best team.

FIFA has sparked a wave of criticism in Spain after it left central defenders Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cobarci off the voting list for the 2026 World Cup squad, despite their key role in helping the Spanish national team to its second ever title at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

The international federation published a list of candidates for the tournament’s best team vote on its official website, which was completely devoid of the names of Laporte and Coubarci, in an “illogical and controversial” decision, especially since the duo led the tournament’s strongest defense after Spain conceded just one goal in the competition.

The exclusion of the best young player of the tournament, Barcelona player Kuparsi, was especially shocking, because how could he be awarded a prestigious individual award and then left out of the best team list? This is an obvious contradiction that has caused widespread displeasure in Spanish circles.

Instead of the Spanish duo, FIFA chose Spain’s Mark Cucurella and Pedro Porro, as well as Lisandro Martinez, Nuno Mendes, Virgil van Dijk, Gabriel Magalhes, Cristian Romero and Dayo Upamecano in the defensive line.

In the field of goalkeeping, Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon has been included in the list, along with Fuseña, Emiliano Martinez, Jordan Pickford and Bart Verbruchen.

In terms of midfield and wings, there have been Spaniards through Rodri and Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Olissi, Vinicius Junior, Enzo Fernandez, Ousmane Dembele, Luka Modric and Cibari.

The Spanish Neko Williams appeared in the attack line along with Kylian Mbappé, Quiñones, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi.

The controversial absence was not limited to Laporte and Cobarsi, but also included two other Spanish stars who performed exceptionally in the tournament, namely Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino, raising questions about the selection criteria adopted by the international federation.

Notably, Spain achieved a historic defensive feat in the tournament, conceding just one goal in 7 matches, a record that reflects the cohesiveness of the backline, which was led to great effect by Laporte and Cobarsi.