{"id":14832,"date":"2026-04-30T21:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/14832\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T21:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:54:19","slug":"spain-coach-de-la-fuente-addresses-injury-concerns-after-lamine-yamal-scare-ahead-of-2026-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/14832\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain coach De La Fuente addresses injury concerns after Lamine Yamal scare ahead of 2026 World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

In one month, Luis De La Fuente will have to confirm the final 26-man roster that will represent Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That means any last-minute injury could alter his plans\u2014something highlighted by the recent scare involving Lamine Yamal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

De La Fuente<\/a> spoke during a medical symposium at the CEMTRO clinic in Madrid this week. \u201cWill Lamine be there?\u201d was one of the questions posed to the coach regarding the availability of the Barcelona winger for Spain\u2019s World Cup squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a call-up, we consider every scenario\u2014whether you\u2019re winning, losing, or if the opponent goes down to 10 men,\u201d De La Fuente said, according to Marca. \u201cThere are players who can give you 20 minutes, and that has enormous value. Some players may not be able to give you 50 or 60 minutes, but they can deliver 20 very good ones\u2014and that can make the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that sense, the coach avoided addressing Yamal\u2019s specific case but made it clear that his presence could still be crucial even if he is not at full fitness at the start of the World Cup<\/a>. \u201cOur priority is to arrive at the decisive stage with the best possible team,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\"Lamine<\/p>\n

Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona reacts to an injury after scoring.<\/p>\n

De La Fuente has experience managing these situations<\/p>\n

In nearly four years as Spain<\/a> coach, Luis De La Fuente has faced situations that forced him to make difficult decisions, and that experience is now shaping his approach ahead of North America 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Lamine<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Lamine Yamal\u2019s World Cup 2026 availability managed as Barcelona emphasize cautious recovery<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

To explain his thinking regarding players who may not be at 100 percent for the World Cup, the coach cited an example from Euro 2024, where Spain were crowned champions. \u201cOlmo arrived injured\u2014we were close to leaving him out\u2014but he went on to be decisive at the Euro. There are players who can come in less than fully fit and still make a difference in the knockout stages. Olmo was decisive from the quarterfinals onward,\u201d De La Fuente said, referring to Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo.<\/p>\n

Based on those comments, it can be inferred that Lamine Yamal\u2019s place at the World Cup could be secure even if he does not fully recover before the tournament begins. Spain\u2019s group-stage path includes matches against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay, but the coach\u2019s priority appears to be the knockout rounds that follow.<\/p>\n

De La Fuente points to the schedule<\/p>\n

In the same conversation, Luis De La Fuente shared his views on the growing number of injuries among elite players. \u201cThe pace is so intense, with matches every three or four days, that injuries are inevitable,\u201d said the Spain coach. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to recover, and another to return to peak performance. The biggest risk when a player comes back is suffering another injury.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In one month, Luis De La Fuente will have to confirm the final 26-man roster that will represent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[938,4888,17,369],"class_list":{"0":"post-14832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-lamine-yamal","9":"tag-luis-de-la-fuente","10":"tag-spain","11":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}