Spanish La Liga calendar set for possible changes as World Cup enters crucial phase

Spain’s place in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals after defeating Portugal has made it increasingly likely that some matches scheduled for the opening weekend of the 2026-27 La Liga campaign will be pushed back.

The Spanish top-flight season is due to kick off on August 15-16. However, an existing agreement allows clubs with players who reach the World Cup semifinals to delay the start of their league campaign by one week. Any affected fixtures would then be played in the gap between the second and third rounds of the season.

One of the games already facing uncertainty is Real Madrid’s league opener against Real Sociedad. The Madrid club has several players still involved in the World Cup, including France internationals Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni, as well as Morocco’s Brahim Diaz. Since France and Morocco meet in the quarterfinals, Real Madrid is guaranteed to have at least one player advance to the last four.

Spain’s continued progress in the tournament has added to the scheduling challenge, as several other La Liga clubs also have players expected to remain on international duty until the closing stages of the competition.

The Spanish players’ union insists footballers should receive at least three weeks of off-season rest every year. With the World Cup final scheduled for July 19, anyone competing in the final would not have enough time to recover before the league season begins if required to play during the opening weekend.

Most of Europe’s other leading leagues have sidestepped the issue by starting their new seasons later. The 2026-27 Premier League campaign, for example, is set to get underway on the weekend of August 22-23.

Fixtures

The intense round kicks off this Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 11:00 pm as Didier Deschamps’ French side entertains Morocco in what will be a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, when France ended Morocco’s historic run in Qatar.

In yet another edition, the Atlas Lions have demonstrated they belong on the global stage and will face their sternest test yet against the offensive line led by Kylian Mbappe.

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