Gavi: From starting player to unused substitute

Spanish midfielder Gavi finds himself unexpectedly sidelined in the 2026 World Cup, having gone from a starting position in the opening match to complete absence from the field.

Luis de la Fuente, Spain's coach, surprisingly included Gavi in the starting eleven for the team's first game on June 15 against Cape Verde, which ended in a 0-0 draw. However, in the 71st minute of that match, with the score still level, Gavi was replaced by Lamine Yamal. Since then, he has remained an unused substitute in Spain's subsequent victories: a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia and a 1-0 triumph against Uruguay.

In those two matches, Álex Baena was chosen to start in Gavi's midfield position, even scoring the winning goal against Uruguay. Gavi did not feature in any substitutions made by De la Fuente during either game. The coach utilized players like Yéremy Pino, Ferran Torres, Mikel Merino, Nico Williams, and Fabián Ruiz from the bench in the match against Saudi Arabia, and Pino, Ruiz, Williams, Torres, and Dani Olmo (for Merino) against Uruguay.

Gavi is notably the sole player from Spain's initial starting lineup against Cape Verde who has not earned any further minutes in the tournament. While other players who started that game, such as Fabián Ruiz and Ferran Torres, have played in subsequent matches, they did not start. Players like Unai Simón, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Pedri González, Rodrigo Hernández, and Mikel Oyarzabal have retained their starting spots in at least one of the following games.