Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams Return to Training for Spain
Spain’s World Cup build-up finally brought a piece of good news on Thursday. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams were back on the grass, moving freely, striking the ball, and, most importantly for La Roja, easing the anxiety that had crept in before their opener against Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday.
Two of the brightest stars of Euro 2024, two of the main reasons Spain lifted that trophy, had spent the season wrestling with their own bodies. Now, with the World Cup about to start, they are at least back in the picture.
Yamal, the Barcelona prodigy who lit up Germany last summer, had not played since April 22 after a hamstring injury stalled his club campaign. Every sprint, every change of direction in training on Thursday drew attention. Spain do not just see him as a winger; they see him as a reference point for an entire generation.
On the opposite flank, Nico Williams has lived a similar stop-start story. The Athletic Bilbao winger missed the end of his club’s season and has been sidelined for a month, his electric runs and relentless pressing replaced by medical reports and cautious updates. His return to the group, even short of full sharpness, instantly lifted the mood.
Coach's Expectations
Luis de la Fuente had already tried to calm the waters earlier in the week. The Spain coach made it clear he expected both to be available to play some part against Cape Verde, while warning that a starting role was unlikely. The priority is the tournament, not the first whistle in Atlanta.
Inside the camp, the message is the same: optimism, tempered by realism.
“We know that both of them are coming back from important injuries,” right-back Pedro Porro told reporters. “They are recovering, they are happy, they are with the group and that is the most important thing.”
That sense of unity matters. Spain arrive at this World Cup as European champions, with a defined style, a settled core and a dressing room that has grown together through success and setbacks. Losing both Yamal and Williams at once would have meant ripping out two key pieces of their attacking identity.
For now, that scenario is off the table.
De la Fuente is expected to resist any temptation to rush them. Spanish media report he will stick with the XI that beat Peru 3-1 in their final warm-up friendly, a performance that underlined the depth at his disposal. In that game, Alex Baena and Ferran Torres stepped in on the wings and did exactly what was asked: they ran, they combined, they scored, they pressed.
They will likely do the same against Cape Verde, giving Yamal and Williams time to build rhythm from the bench rather than carry the burden from the start. It is a pragmatic call in a tournament where one mismanaged sprint can cost a month.
The sight of the two young stars back in full training changes the mood around Spain’s camp. It doesn’t guarantee minutes. It doesn’t guarantee magic. But it restores something just as valuable before a ball is kicked in Atlanta: the belief that the champions of Europe can lean again on the fearless wide men who helped take them there.
