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Luis de la Fuente’s Spain were crowned World Cup champions on Sunday. The final was especially memorable for Atlético de Madrid supporters, as nine Rojiblancos (10 if you include Nico Gonzalez) featured for Spain and Argentina.
Spain controlled the match from start to finish, repeatedly testing Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez before finally breaking through in the 106th minute with a wonderful goal from substitute Ferrán Torres. Argentina rarely threatened going forward and finished with 10 men following Enzo Fernández’s red card in the second half. Giuliano Simeone had a chance to equalize in the 121st minute, but it was too little, too late.
In part one of this two-part series, we are going to dive into how each Atlético de Madrid player performed at the World Cup and what’s next for each player. Given that there were nine Colchoneros in the World Cup final, we’ll start with Spain and Argentina.
Spain
Álex Baena
Following a disappointing debut season at Atlético, there were questions as to whether Baena would even make Spain’s squad, let alone start in seven of Spain’s eight matches. However, thanks to de la Fuente’s trust in him — combined with Nico Williams’ late-season injury — Baena became Spain’s de facto left winger.
At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Baena recorded:
- 7 appearances (7 starts)
- 487 minutes played
- 1 goal
- 1 assist
- 1 yellow card
Baena played with obvious confidence throughout the tournament. He made intelligent runs and crisp passes to teammates. He looked like he had rediscovered the swagger that made him such an exciting player at Villarreal, which will be key for next season.
For a player who struggled for confidence toward the end of last season, lifting the World Cup while playing such a prominent role could do wonders for Baena’s belief heading into the new campaign. The World Cup may prove to be the confidence boost that unlocks his best year yet.
Marcos Llorente
Unlike Baena, Llorente had one of his best seasons to date and was arguably a top-three right back in the world. Also unlike Baena, Llorente’s role diminished after the group stage.
It would be unfair to say that Llorente played badly and “deserved” to lose his place after the Cape Verde draw. Unfortunately, Pedro Porro played better, and de la Fuente rolled with the hot hand as the tournament progressed. Llorente finished the tournament with three appearances, starting twice and laying on one assist for Baena in Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay to close the group phase.
What’s next for Llorente at Atlético de Madrid? He appears destined for a new contract and possibly a captaincy, with the armband to follow once Koke and Jan Oblak decide to leave the club. Llorente will be expected to step up into more of a leadership role next season as a changing of the guard looms in Madrid.
Marc Pubill
If you had told Marc Pubill Pagés he’d be debuting with the Spanish national team while he was still with Segunda side Almería this time last year, he probably wouldn’t have believed you. But if you’ve followed Atlético de Madrid closely this season, you’re familiar with the young center-back’s rise to prominence, and how richly he deserved to be in the Spain squad.
Pubill made only one brief appearance in Spain’s Round of 32 match against Austria, but making your national squad and winning the World Cup is a great confidence booster for a player still very early in his career. I expect Pubill will take a couple weeks of well-deserved vacation and then be one of the first players from the national team to return.
Pubill will be an Atlético de Madrid captain one day. He says and does all the right things, to the point where you would think he’s been a Colchonero for many years.
Alejandro Grimaldo
Grimaldo unfortunately did not feature in the World Cup for Spain, but he appears ready to suit up as a Rojiblanco ASAP.
Into the Calderon’s own Sam Leveridge went into detail about what exactly Atleti are getting in Grimaldo. In short: expect a high-intensity player who is going to make the left side of Atleti’s attack very dangerous. In 145 appearances, Grimaldo provided 75 goal contributions and is described as being “lethal” from free kicks. Pair those qualities with his eagerness to get started to get started and I think we’ll get magic very quickly.
After the World Cup win, Grimaldo was asked what he wanted to win next. His answer: the Champions League with Atleti. Grimaldo already appears eager to begin life as a Rojiblanco. I expect a short vacation from Grimaldo and then straight to training under Simeone.
Argentina
Julián Alvarez
Expectations were high for Alvarez coming into the World Cup. The 26-year-old was expected to enjoy a breakout tournament on the national stage and be a key part of Argentina’s run to the final.
Instead, he fell well short of those expectations.
Alvarez played in all eight of Argentina’s matches, played 600 minutes, scored one goal and provided zero assists. While the one goal was an absolute banger, that would be his lone highlight on the pitch; La Araña generated more headlines off the pitch than on it.
Following Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria in the group Ssage, Alvarez decided to break his silence and go public with his intent to transfer away from the club. Later in the tournament, Alvarez was less eager to discuss his club career: “Right now it’s Argentina. We’ll see about the future.”
Julián’s performances at the World Cup suggest that he may have been distracted. Atlético remain staunchly opposed to selling the forward, and the obvious question becomes: where does the situation go from here?
Per David Ornstein of The Athletic, Arsenal appear to be ramping up the pressure to sign him. Reports suggest the deal could get done if Arsenal offer a large sum of money plus Viktor Gyökeres, a one-time target for Atleti when he was still at Sporting. For now, these are only rumors and noise around Alvarez. One thing does remain clear though, as it relates to the club’s dealings with FC Barcelona: put up the release clause, or there’s nothing to discuss.
Nahuel Molina
Molina featured in seven of Argentina’s eight matches, as Lionel Scaloni once again showed how highly he rates him. But he wasn’t near his best during this tournament, in attack or in defense. His best match was against Austria, when he registered two tackles, two interceptions and three clearances.
The bad with Molina came against England and in the final against Spain. Molina’s biggest issue throughout the tournament — and his time at Atleti — is losing track of runners. This happened against Anthony Gordon in the semifinals and then against Nico Williams in the final. Argentina managed to rally after Gordon’s goal for England; the Albiceleste never responded to Nico’s goal for Spain.
Following the full-time whistle at New York New Jersey, Molina threw a punch into Rodri’s stomach and then confronted the Spain captain as he was running across the field to celebrate with teammates. That incited a brawl at midfield which ensnared multiple players from both teams and will trigger a FIFA investigation.
I believe it’s time for a change of scenery for Molina, and rumored interest (again) from Italian clubs could not come at a better time.
Thiago Almada
Almada’s inclusion in Scaloni’s squad was more a reflection of his past exploits with the national team than anything he did in an Atlético de Madrid shirt.
Almada featured in five of Argentina’s eight matches at the tournament, starting three of them. He had an uneventful World Cup in which neither impressed nor disappointed. His moment of the World Cup was almost scoring a great goal against Switzerland that instead clipped the outside of the post.
It increasingly appears Almada has no long-term future at Atlético, to the point that Diego Simeone himself is reposting articles about his potential departure. There’s reported interest from Flamengo, River Plate and a Saudi club, and Atleti are just waiting on the player’s final choice in order to sell him.
Giuliano Simeone
Giuliano played only three of Argentina’s eight matches. His best moment of the World Cup definitely came against England, in his first start of the tournament. Many believed that Simeone started against England just to be a pest, to annoy and frustrate Thomas Tuchel’s men. That assessment proved…kind of accurate.
Simeone’s final stat line against England was:
- 72 minutes
- 25/31 passes
- 2 key passes
- 5 duels won
- 4 recoveries
- 5 fouls
Unfortunately, the lasting image of Giuliano at this World Cup will be his missed shot in the dying moments of the final that soared over the goal. That came after he lost track of Ferrán on what proved to be the winning goal.
Looking into next season, it looks like Giuliano will finally have some competition in the form of South Korean international Kang-in Lee. Giuliano’s form dipped towards the end of the season, and many speculated that it was due to exhaustion. El Cholo’s son registered the third most minutes of any Atleti outfield player last season.
Healthy competition should only benefit Giuliano, and he certainly has the mindset to not let it affect his confidence. Going back to last summer’s Club World Cup, he’s hardly had any rest! This vacation should do him a world of good.
Juan Musso
Juan Musso didn’t see the pitch for Argentina this tournament. Still, after a strong run through the cup competitions with Atlético last season, he heads into the new campaign with real momentum and a genuine shot at pushing longtime No. 1 Jan Oblak for the starting job between the posts.
Nico Gonzalez
While not technically an Atlético de Madrid player anymore, Nico did play a lot for the club last season, and it isn’t ruled out that he returns in 2026/27.
Credit where it’s due: Nico enjoyed an impressive tournament. He played in seven of Argentina’s eight matches and registered just one assist, but he showed his doubters exactly what Cholo Simeone sees in him: a versatile threat, a powderkeg of energy coming off the bench and a genuine weapon in the air on balls into the box.
Nico’s future remains uncertain. El Cholo is enamored with Nico and loves the versatility he would bring to the squad. Mateu Alemany and upper management do not view Nico quite as positively would like to prioritize other positions before bringing him back from Juventus permanently.
Personally, I would only bring Nico back if he were available for under €10m or if he was available on another loan spell, but that is not going to happen. I think (fear) Simeone’s pleas will shine through and Atleti will put up the reported €25-€30m for him.
