David Raya said the battle to be Spain’s first-choice goalkeeper can be a positive for them at the World Cup, as the Arsenal stopper competes with Joan García and Unai Simón for a place in the starting XI.
Raya has won three consecutive Premier League Golden Gloves, while García starred as Barcelona won LaLiga, but it’s Athletic Club’s Simón who’s expected to be picked by coach Luis de la Fuente as Spain play Cabo Verde in Group H on Monday.
Simón, 29, is Spain’s long-term number one — having impressed as they won Euro 2024 — but speaking in a news conference at the team’s training base in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Saturday, Raya said competition means the trio will “push each other to be better.”
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“[We take the debate] with total naturalness,” Raya said. “There’s always been a lot of competition, with the goalkeepers we have.
“We try to push each other to be better, and make the manager’s job a bit more difficult to choose. We’re here to help each other. Whoever plays the first, second and third games will do the best they can.”
In Spain’s warm-up games ahead of the World Cup, García started in a 1-1 friendly draw with Iraq, with his error gifting Iraq their goal, while Simón was back between the posts for a 3-1 victory over Peru, with Raya playing the second half.
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“It’s normal that in the media, with Joan and Unai in LaLiga, there’s a debate,” Raya said. “I have been away [from Spain] for a very long time. I remember the first time I came to the national team, people asked who I was … I’m trying to make it hard to the manager to decide.”
Raya left Spain for England in 2012, joining Blackburn, before an unconventional career path saw him play for Southport and Brentford before joining Arsenal. Despite being based in England for the last 14 years — and only making his Spain debut in 2022 — Raya said he never considered switching to represent England.
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“No, it has never gone through my head,” he said on Saturday. “I feel Spanish. I always wanted to play for Spain, and I never thought about it.”
Spain play Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, before travelling to Guadalajara to play Uruguay in their last Group H game.
