Lamine Yamal Ready for Spain’s World Cup Opener

Spain will walk into their World Cup opener with their brightest young star ready to go. Lamine Yamal, the teenager who has already bent games to his will for club and country, is in “perfect condition” to face Cape Verde on Monday.

Luis de la Fuente did not bother to disguise his relief.

“The good news is that Lamine is in perfect condition,” the Spain head coach told reporters on the eve of the game. A hamstring injury in April had cut short the Barcelona winger’s 2025-26 season and thrown his World Cup into doubt. The plan, the rehab, the patience – it has all paid off.

He will not be thrown straight into a 90-minute slog. Spain know exactly what they have and exactly what they risk.

“The doctors say Lamine can play tomorrow without any issues. Not to play 90 minutes, but to play some minutes, yes,” De la Fuente explained. His words were calm; the implications are anything but. Even “some minutes” of Yamal changes the temperature of a match.

Spain’s title defence dream

This is not just about one prodigy. Spain arrive with a chance to join an elite club. Only three nations have ever held the European Championship and World Cup at the same time. After lifting the European crown in Germany two years ago, La Roja can become the fourth.

Yet the weight of recent history hangs over them.

Since the golden summer of 2010, Spain’s World Cup story has been one of underachievement. Group-stage elimination in 2014. Last-16 exits decided on penalties in both 2018 and 2022. Just one win in their last six World Cup matches – that 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica in Qatar – tells its own story (D4 L1).

Opta’s supercomputer still makes them favourites to win the tournament. The numbers like what De la Fuente is building. The World Cup, notoriously, does not always care for numbers.

Injury worries ease

At least, for now, the medical bulletin is kind.

Yamal is not the only player to come through the fitness race. Nico Williams and Victor Munoz are also available, giving De la Fuente the kind of attacking depth coaches dream about on the training pitch and agonise over on the team sheet.

“He’s fine, just like Nico and Victor. They’re all available, although some won’t play the entire game,” the coach said. The message is clear: the cavalry is ready, but will be used with restraint.

Spain have spent the build-up knitting these pieces together. “They’ve been working together a lot of days, a lot of hours,” De la Fuente noted. The chemistry has been building; the question now is how much of it he dares to unleash from the start against Cape Verde, and how much he keeps in reserve for later in the tournament.

Cucurella calm amid Real Madrid noise

The national team camp has not been immune to club football’s constant hum. Reports in Spain suggest Marc Cucurella is close to swapping Chelsea for Real Madrid, a move that would reshape the left-back’s career and the balance of power at the top of LaLiga.

De la Fuente refused to be dragged into the transfer saga, but he did not hold back on his opinion of the defender.

“If it’s good news for Cucu, or someone else, we’ll celebrate it,” he said. On clubs, he stayed silent. On Cucurella the player, he was emphatic. “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.”

For Spain, that is what matters. Club noise stays outside. Inside, Cucurella is a trusted piece in a side that wants to dominate the ball and suffocate opponents.

A familiar stage, a different Spain?

Spain step into this World Cup as favourites on paper but with scars on the pitch. One semi-final in their last 14 appearances – and that came in their 2010 triumph – is a brutal reminder of how rarely this tournament forgives.

Cape Verde will not be the biggest name they face, but opening games have a way of exposing nerves. They set tones, shape narratives, and leave coaches either explaining dropped points or carefully downplaying early hype.

De la Fuente, at least, knows he can turn to Lamine Yamal. Not for the full 90. Not yet. But long enough to tilt a game, spark a move, or remind the world why Spain’s future, for all their past frustrations, still looks so dangerously bright.