Eduardo Camavinga is going through one of the worst moments of his career, and the timing could not be worse. With 38 days to go before the start of the 2026 World Cup, the Real Madrid midfielder has a serious chance of being left out of Didier Deschamps’ final squad, according to Téléfoot. The French coach will announce the list on May 14, and the Real Madrid man currently appears as the sixth-choice midfielder in the manager’s plans, behind Kanté, Koné, Rabiot, Tchouaméni, and Zaïre-Emery. A sharp decline that has sparked controversy in France and that the player still has time to reverse, although the margin is minimal.
Camavinga’s year at Real Madrid has been difficult from the start. He played 39 matches and logged 2,013 minutes, scored two goals, and provided one assist, but his level fell short of expectations. Within the Madrid squad, he ranks as the eleventh player with the most minutes, and in the dressing room the general feeling is that he had more than enough opportunities to show more.
The darkest moment came in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich, when he was sent off for a second yellow card in the closing minutes and left the team down to ten men at a critical moment. The incident triggered criticism and further damaged his image both at the club and with the national team.
During the most recent international window in March, Camavinga was not a starter against either Brazil or Colombia. It was not a matter of rotation but of pecking order: Deschamps chose other options. Kanté and Zaïre-Emery moved ahead of him, and Manu Koné, who was not called up that time because of injury, is also expected to reclaim his place in the group.
The versatility that allowed him to get minutes at left-back in Qatar 2022 no longer seems to be a decisive factor. For this World Cup, his options in defense are virtually nonexistent with Theo Hernández and Lucas Digne in the squad. And in his natural midfield role, the competition is fierce.
The end of the season will give him four matches to try to change the situation. With Arda Güler injured and Ceballos not getting much room, Camavinga could get minutes alongside Tchouaméni, Bellingham, and Valverde in Madrid’s final games. A narrow but real window to show Deschamps that he deserves to be on the 26-man list.
Outside of football, the player dealt with a dental infection at the start of March and was advised to have surgery, although he chose not to so he would not miss important matches, including the tie against Manchester City. A decision that speaks to his commitment but also adds another layer of physical uncertainty at the worst possible time.