The defeat in Munich and Real Madrid's exit from the Champions League leave the white team with an empty final month of competition. Because the reality is that they can still be league champions. Even though it indicates that Barcelona's nine-point lead, with 21 points left to play, sounds insurmountable.

In the distance, the enormous figure of the World Cup already looms. And that means there are players in Alvaro Arbeloa's squad who look at the six remaining matches with World Cup eyes. Some arrive in perfect condition; others, as the last opportunity for their national team coaches to change their minds.

The right back for the white team operates in that second context. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal started the season with the World Cup as their goal. But less than two months before the ball rolls at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico, both are out of the latest plans of Thomas Tuchel and Luis de la Fuente.

In his first season at the White House, Trent Alexander-Arnold has left more shadows than lights, especially when it comes to defending. He has played much more than Dani Carvajal (1,382 vs. 858), but that has not been enough for England to remember him.

Because the ex-Liverpool defender has not played for his country since June 2025, less than half an hour against Andorra. And to find his last start, you have to go back to October 2024: 3-1 win against Finland, with a goal from him.

Between injuries, doubts from Thomas Tuchel, and the preference for Ben White and Tino Livramento, the English fullback for Real Madrid faces the final stretch of the season with a lot to prove for his coach to include him among the 26 World Cup players.

In Dani Carvajal's case, Luis de la Fuente has found a scenario he did not expect in September. In that squad, Carvajal returned after his very serious knee injury and had minutes in Bulgaria. Everything seemed on track for the national team to recover its undisputed starting right back.

Seven months later, nothing has happened as expected. Dani Carvajal had to go under the knife again, and his participation at Real Madrid has been minimal. Doubts about his competitive fitness are on the table for these six remaining matches, if Alvaro Arbeloa gives him more minutes than he has so far.

The fullback position is very delicate in a squad. It is a specialist position where you cannot take risks. That is what led Luis Enrique to cut Gaya days before the start of the Qatar World Cup and urgently call up Balde.

Right now, that position belongs to Marcos Llorente and Pedro Porro, in that order, thinking about the starting 11 that will debut against Cape Verde on June 15. A strong end to the season from Dani Carvajal could put the Tottenham fullback, immersed in a crisis that could lead Spurs to relegation, in trouble.

The question in Las Rozas is whether Carvajal will have the playing time and strength for that final attempt to be in what he knows is his last World Cup.

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