Unai Simon vs David Raya vs Joan Garcia: Who should be Spain's starting GK at World Cup 2026?

Joan Garcia is yet to make his debut for La Roja.

The Spain national football team are on a great run of form since beating England in the UEFA Euro 2024. They are the European champions and have shown no signs of slowing down.

The Luis de la Fuente-led side possesses capable players in the squad and are executing well tactically on the field. La Roja are one of the favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Their preparations are going well.

During the March 2026 international break, the Spaniards have already secured a 3-0 win against Serbia. It was an easy victory for them, and they will be eager to keep their momentum going. They are also one of the strongest teams on paper and are good at keeping their reputation intact.

With a stacked roster comes the responsibility of selecting the deserving starting XI, and De la Fuente has not failed in doing that. Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez are doing well in the attacking front. Pedri and Rodri are strongly controlling the midfield.

Players like Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella and Marcos Llorente are comfortable in the defensive back.

Unai Simón has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the Spain national football team. But they do have two more strong contenders for this position, namely Arsenal’s David Raya and FC Barcelona’s Joan Garcia.

Who should be Spain’s starting goalkeeper at the World Cup 2026?

3. Joan Garcia

The 24-year-old joined FC Barcelona in 2025. Since then, he has become the first-choice goalkeeper for Blaugrana due to his good run of performances. Joan Garcia has been performing exceptionally well under Hansi Flick and has also received his maiden call-up for the Spain national football team during the March-April international break.

He still needs to compete for the starting spot in La Roja. Barca have conceded 28 goals during 2025-26 and are also at the top of the LaLiga points table.

He has 2.8 saves per match. Garcia has an impressive 78.75% save percentage, while conceding only 0.8 goals per game. The 24-year-old has been doing a good job guarding the goal for Spanish giants.

He can be a good choice to become La Roja’s goalkeeper, but not ahead of David Raya.

2. David Raya

David Raya has been in top form for Arsenal and is also the better-performing goalkeeper than Unai Simón at the club level. The Gunners have only conceded 22 goals in their ongoing Premier League campaign and are at the top of the points table at the moment. He averages 1.7 saves per match with a 69.44% save percentage, while conceding just 0.8 goals per game.

Even though he has frequently been named in the Spanish squad, he doesn’t count as the first-choice goalkeeper.

For La Roja, he made his last appearance during the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign. As per the current stats, he should be the better choice ahead of Simon.

1. Unai Simón

Despite his performances for Athletic Club Bilbao not being top-notch, Unai Simón has been the first choice for De la Fuente when it comes to La Roja. The 28-year-old has been good with his performances when it comes to the Spain national football team. He started in all six of the World Cup qualifying games and only conceded two goals.

On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao have conceded 41 goals in 2025-26 and are placed ninth on the LaLiga points table at the moment. Even though he averages 2.8 saves per match, his 66.12% save percentage is slightly lower compared to elite standards, and he concedes 1.5 goals per game.

These are some concerning numbers at the club level, but Luis de la Fuente is expected to continue with Simón at the upcoming edition of the mega competition.

Conclusion

The European champions don’t have a shortage of options between the sticks. Unai Simon has been doing well for the Spain national football team, but isn’t very good when it comes to the club level. David Raya and Joan Garcia lead the stats in almost all aspects, yet it is the Athletic Bilbao ace who has the manager’s trust.

He started in all of Spain’s World Cup qualifying games and in friendlies in March. This indicates that Unai Simon is going to be the first-choice for La Roja in the upcoming edition of the World Cup.

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