A number of Barcelona and Madrid players will feature in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, from Lamine Yamal to Kylian Mbappé to Jude Bellingham.
Published July 14, 2026
La Liga has postponed next season’s opening match between Barcelona and Real Madrid due to the large number of players from both clubs taking part in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals.
France face Spain in the first of their remaining four games on Tuesday, while England face Argentina in Wednesday’s game.
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Among Barcelona’s key players who played in the World Cup semi-finals are Spain’s Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo, and England’s Anthony Gordon.
Madrid keeper Kylian Mbappé was joined by Los Blancos midfielder Aurelien Choameny in the French side, while Real playmaker Jude Bellingham proved to be a key player in England’s campaign.
The Spanish top flight season begins on the weekend of August 15th and 16th. Defending champions Barcelona were originally scheduled to defend their title at home against Athletic Bilbao.
However, following Tuesday’s La Liga decision, Barcelona will start the season in Elche on August 23rd, with the original opening game against Bilbao postponed to August 27th.
Madrid was scheduled to host Real Sociedad on the opening weekend, but the league moved the match to August 26.
This means that Jose Mourinho’s first La Liga match in his second year at Madrid will be an away match against Espanyol on August 22nd.
However, Atlético Madrid’s Argentinian pair of Julián Álvarez and Nahuel Molina will have to kick off against Malaga on August 19 as originally scheduled.
