Lamine Yamal Cleared for World Cup as Spain Seeks Glory
Spain will have their brightest young star on the pitch when their World Cup campaign begins. Lamine Yamal, the teenager who has lit up Barcelona and the national team, is in “perfect condition” to face Cape Verde on Monday, according to head coach Luis de la Fuente.
For Spain, it changes everything.
Yamal missed the run-in of the 2025-26 season after a hamstring injury in April, his fitness a running subplot to Spain’s preparations. The question wasn’t whether De la Fuente wanted him. It was whether his body would let him play.
Now the answer is in.
“The good news is that Lamine is in perfect condition,” De la Fuente told reporters on the eve of Spain’s opener. “He's arrived at this point in the state in which we wanted him to be. He's fine, just like Nico [Williams] and Victor [Munoz]. They're all available, although some won't play the entire game.”
So Yamal will be there, but not for the full 90. Spain know what they have; they also know what they risk.
“The doctors say Lamine can play tomorrow without any issues. Not to play 90 minutes, but to play some minutes, yes. The process [with Williams] is similar,” De la Fuente said, underlining the careful load management around his two explosive wide men.
Chasing a rare double – and shaking off old scars
Spain arrive at this World Cup carrying two very different labels: reigning European champions and serial underachievers on the global stage.
They are aiming to become only the fourth nation to hold the European Championship and World Cup at the same time, following their Euro 2024 triumph in Germany. The talent is there, the model is clear, and Opta’s supercomputer even has them as favourites to lift the trophy.
Yet the numbers from recent tournaments refuse to flatter them.
Since that golden night in 2010, La Roja have not gone beyond the last 16. Their title defence in 2014 collapsed in the group stage. The last two World Cups ended on penalties in the first knockout round. Across their last 14 appearances at the tournament, 2010 remains the only time they have reached the semi-finals.
More recent form hardly soothes the doubts. Spain have won just one of their last six World Cup matches (D4 L1) – that thumping 7-0 over Costa Rica in the 2022 group stage. Everything else has been toil, frustration, or heartbreak from 12 yards.
That is the backdrop against which Yamal and Nico Williams step onto the world stage. Fresh legs, fresh ideas, and a chance to rip up the script.
“They've been working together a lot of days, a lot of hours, and with the relationship they have, they've been happy,” De la Fuente said of his young attackers. “They could play, if we think the game demands it.”
The message is clear: if Spain need to tilt the game, the kids are coming on.
Cucurella in the spotlight amid Real Madrid talk
De la Fuente also found himself fielding questions that had nothing to do with Cape Verde. Reports in Spain suggest Marc Cucurella is close to swapping Chelsea for Real Madrid, a move that would drop him straight into the most intense spotlight in club football.
The Spain boss brushed aside any concern that transfer noise might seep into the defender’s performances.
“If it's good news for Cucu, or someone else, we'll celebrate it,” he said. “I don't talk about clubs, but if you ask me about Cucurella for the national team, he's convincing.
“He's been with us since he was 17. I know his performance, the quality and potential he has. He might be one of the best left-backs in the world, without doubt.”
It was an unambiguous endorsement, and another reminder of the trust De la Fuente places in players he has guided through the youth ranks.
Favourites, but with something to prove
On paper, Spain have everything: depth, momentum from their Euro triumph, and a generational talent in Yamal cleared to play from day one. The data models back them. The bookmakers respect them.
The World Cup, though, has not cared much for Spanish plans over the last decade.
Cape Verde should not, in theory, trouble a side of this calibre. Yet Spain know how quickly a World Cup narrative can twist if the first step is anything less than decisive. With Yamal ready, Nico Williams available, and Cucurella entrenched as a key piece at left-back, De la Fuente has his weapons.
Now comes the part that has eluded Spain since 2010: turning promise, possession, and potential into a deep World Cup run.
