More than a third of Spain's players at the World Cup are Catalan. Lamine Yamal, Joan Garcia, Pau Cubarsí, Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo, Víctor Muñoz, Marc Cucurella, David Raya and Marc Pubill are the nine footballers from Catalonia who are competing in this summer's major sporting event under the orders of coach Luis de la Fuente. But beyond the Spanish squad, there are more representatives from the region at the World Cup, spread across teams from Europe, Africa, and America.

Robert Martínez (Balaguer, 1973) has won the hearts of the Portuguese. When he received the offer to be their national team coach in 2023, he knew he had to move to Lisbon and learn Portuguese. He held his first press conference with a fairly decent Portuguese, but after losing in the quarterfinals of the European Championship in 2024, he felt a certain pressure, as there was talk in Portugal about the possibility of choosing José Mourinho as their national team coach for the 2026 World Cup. With the Nations League in the bag, Martínez can breathe easy. Mourinho will have to wait.