Skopje  - Spain's friendly away to Macedonia on Wednesday has been overshadowed by the tragic death of Espanyol captain Daniel Jarque.

Jarque, 26, died on Saturday after suffering a massive heart attack whilst in his room in Italy, where Espanyol were on tour. His body will be flown back to Barcelona on Tuesday or Wednesday, after the Italian authorities have carried out an autopsy.

Sunday saw a collective outpouring of grief at Espanyol's new stadium in the Barcelona suburb of Cornella, which fans have requested to be named after Jarque.

The tall defender was the captain of the Spanish Under-21 team five years ago and, although he had not been called up for the full team, was reportedly part of national manager Vicente del Bosque's plans for the 2010 World Cup.

There will be a minute's silence in honour of Jarque before Wednesday's friendly, and the Spanish players will wear black armbands.

"It will not be easy," said Del Bosque on Sunday, "to play a football match after what has happened." He described Jarque as "a good person and a promising young player."

The Spanish players will come together in Madrid on Monday, then fly out to Skopje on Tuesday.

The players from Barcelona and Real Madrid will fly into Madrid from North America, where they have been on tour with their club sides.

For the first time since 2006, four Real Madrid players - Iker Casillas, Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso and Raul Albiol - have been included in the squad.

Real right-back Sergio Ramos will be missing with a torn muscle in his right leg. His place has been taken by uncapped Osasuna defender Nacho Monreal.

The only two players from the June Confederations Cup squad who have been left out, in addition to Ramos, are Valencia midfielder Pablo Hernandez and Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente.

The game will be part of the celebration for the centenary of football in Macedonia.

On Friday the Macedonian football federation announced that 17,000 tickets for the match had been cancelled on suspicion of falsification. (dpa)