Spain manager planning call up for Barcelona star ahead of La Finalissima

Arguably Barcelona’s best player in the last two months has been goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who has made crucial interventions against Espanyol, Villarreal and Eintracht Frankfurt. It was during the Catalan derby, in a hostile atmosphere, that he excelled most though.

That performance has raised calls for Garcia to be called up to the Spanish national team to a fever pitch. Garcia made six saves, but three of them were interventions where he was not favourite to get the better of the Espanyol forwards. As Unai Simon, Spain’s number one, goes through a mixed season, plenty of radio time and column space has been dedicated to making Garcia’s case.

Joan Garcia in line for Spain call up

According to Cadena Cope, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente is planning to call him up in the next international break in March. Assistant manager Juanjo Gonzalez has let slip that La Roja do intend to bring him into the squad ahead of La Finalissima with Argentina in March. Gonzalez also explained the Spain staff have no worries over his arrival upsetting the atmosphere in the goalkeeping department, vouching for his character.

João Cancelo will undergo his medical tests tomorrow in Barcelona. [@ffpolo] pic.twitter.com/msUDWEKHG6

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 8, 2026

Garcia and Unai Simon embrace

After the Spanish Supercup semi-final between Athletic Club and Barcelona, where Simon was beaten five times, the two were seen sharing an embrace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Simon is currently ahead of David Raya and Alex Remiro in the pecking order, despite his shaky form, and has always been backed by Luis Enrique and de la Fuente.

لاعبينا يُواسون أوناي سيمون بعد الخسارة بخُماسية pic.twitter.com/IeboEZLZkY

— FCBW (@FCBWa7a) January 7, 2026

Simon has come up with a number of important saves for La Roja over recent years, but the form of Raya and now Garcia is beginning to open up some debate over his position. Whether Garcia’s pending call-up means that Remiro or Raya will simply drop out of the squad, or if it opens up a competition for the number one spot remains to be seen. Garcia himself played down his hopes of a national team appearance.

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