MADRID — Rodri and Martin Zubimendi reported to the Spain national team camp in Madrid on Monday. Spain are scheduled to play friendly matches against Serbia and Egypt.

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente addressed the midfielders' roles at the camp. "After all the setbacks he went through, Rodrigo is back at a high level. I've said before that he is the best in the world, but also on those same occasions that we are very fortunate," de la Fuente said in an interview.

"After all, in that position, the number 6 role, we have the two best players in the world: Rodrigo and Martin," de la Fuente said. "I will get ahead of a question you are probably going to ask: can they play together? Of course they can play together."

De la Fuente has fielded both Rodri and Zubimendi on the pitch together for Spain only once. That appearance together occurred in the 2024 European Championship semi-final against France, when Martin Zubimendi came on as a substitute in the 93rd minute.

Since taking over in March 2023, Spain have played a total of 3,300 minutes under de la Fuente. Of those minutes, only 268 were played without at least one of Rodri or Zubimendi on the pitch.

Rodri suffered a knee ligament injury in September 2024. His last start for Spain before March 2026 was in September 2024 against Switzerland. Martin Zubimendi has been selected to play for Spain as a midfielder when Rodri was unavailable due to injury.

"I'm leaving you the keys of the team," Rodri said in a message to Zubimendi. "That sounds familiar. It was not so long ago that it was Sergio Busquets and me. It's a joy to have players of such a high level in every position," Rodri said in an interview.

"In my idea of football, they may occupy a similar role, but they are different players with different characteristics. In fact, Martin is getting into the box more now and scoring goals, but he also has the qualities of a positional player, with balance and outstanding tactical awareness. Rodri has those same qualities too, so having them there gives us security, that kind of structure," he said.

Spain will play Serbia in Villarreal on Friday. The team played 67 minutes without either Rodri or Zubimendi in their June 2024 match against Andorra, 21 minutes without either in their November 2024 match against Denmark, 90 minutes without either in their November 2024 match against Switzerland, and 90 minutes without either in their November 2025 match against Turkey.

In the 2022 World Cup, coach Luis Enrique played Rodri as a centre-back to include him alongside Sergio Busquets. De la Fuente publicly prefers using a midfield formation with a number 6, an 8, and a 10.