Lamine Yamal To Be Fit In Time For Start Of Fifa World Cup Says Spain Head Coach
Indian Express
Spain expect their star forward Lamine Yamal to be fit in time for their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Cape Verde on June 15, head coach Luis de la Fuente has said. The 18-year-old, who is nursing an injury on his left hamstring, will not play Thursday’s warm-up magtch against Iraq but De la Fuente said that Yamal is on his way to being fully fit.
The World Cup starts on June 11, with Spain’s match against Cape Verde to be played in Atalanta four days into the tournament.
“If nothing changes, he could be ready to play on June 15,” De la Fuente said. “It doesn’t mean that for sure he will play, we’ll see. Maybe a few minutes, maybe just practice so he can improve his condition for the second match. We will have to evaluate.”
Yamal injured his left hamstring while converting a penalty kick for Barcelona in a Spanish league match on April 22. He admitted this week of being scared of missing the World Cup and said he was praying to recover in time for the start of the tournament. Spain have won the World Cup just once in 2010 and Yamal is expected to lead them in this campaign, quickly emerging as the national team and Barcelona’s talisman even when he was a teenager.
Nico Williams, the other youngster expected to play an important role for Spain at the tournament this year, will also miss the warm-up match on Wednesday, as will fellow forward Victor Munoz. Additionally, De la Fuente said he will be leaving out all players who played for either Arsenal or Paris St. Germain in the Champions League final.
Spain’s final warmup match will be against Peru in Mexico on Monday. De la Fuente did not say who is expected to play in that match. After opening against Cape Verde in Group H, Spain will face Saudi Arabia on June 21 in Atlanta and Uruguay on June 26 in Guadalajara.
Spain has never gone past the round of 16 at the World Cup since it won its lone title in 2010. “We are all excited to get started and try to do well at the tournament,” De la Fuente said.