Lamine Yamal ‘on track’ for Spain’s World Cup opener (original) (raw)
Lamine Yamal is poised to make his World Cup debut for Spain, with the teenage sensation expected to feature in their opening fixture against Cape Verde on 15 June.
The Barcelona forward has been sidelined since 22 April with a hamstring injury, missing the climax of his club’s LaLiga-winning campaign though Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, expressed cautious optimism regarding the 18-year-old’s availability even if he remained non-committal on whether Yamal would be fit enough to start.
Yamal, alongside Nico Williams and Victor Munoz, has been omitted from the squad for Spain’s final pre-World Cup friendly against Peru in Puebla, Mexico, due to their ongoing recovery.
Lamine Yamal is on track to make his World Cup debut next week (Reuters)
De la Fuente confirmed to reporters: "All three are on track to be fit to play on the 15th. We do not know how many minutes they will be able to play. But Lamine’s injury was different from Nico and Victor. Each player will have their own recovery process and timeline. However, the most important thing is that, within the timeframe we had planned, the 15th is achievable and will be met, so that they are with us and are available to be selected at some point during the opening game."
With key players racing against time to regain full fitness, Spain’s camp was recently rattled by a heavy tackle from Gavi on fellow midfielder Rodri during a training session. The Manchester City star appeared to be in considerable pain, prompting concern, but De la Fuente downplayed the incident.
"This is football," he stated. "It’s training. The players are very committed, and nobody has to apologise to anybody. Everything is fine. We know Gavi, he has that energy, that drive. That’s one of his virtues. He has to control it and ration it. But I want this Gavi."
Luis de la Fuente says that Spain are monitoring their injured players, such as Lamine Yamal, but expects them to be fit for the first group stage game (Reuters)
Spain enter the World Cup in North America as one of the favourites, having secured the Euro 2024 title in their last major tournament.
Despite recent draws against Iraq and Egypt, La Roja boast an impressive record, with only one loss in their last 29 matches – a penalty shootout defeat to Portugal in the 2025 Nations League final.
Forward Yeremy Pino acknowledged the high expectations, telling reporters: "The favourites tag is normal. We’ve had some very good years and we carry that with a lot of pride. Pressure should not make us play worse. It should make us improve and play better."