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ATLANTA — Lamine Yamal is not in the starting lineup for the Spain vs. Cape Verde World Cup match. He will come off the bench.
On Monday, Spain announced its first 11 through a video of the players' signatures. Yamal was not present in the video. Nor was he listed in the full starting lineup towards the end of the clip.
"Well, let me decide, right? The good news is Lamine is very fit ... he feels very well," Spain head coach Luis De La Fuente said about how many minutes Yamal would play vs Cape Verde.
The 18-year-old's status for the World Cup has been in doubt since he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury with Barcelona in late April. Yamal missed all of Spain's pre-tournament friendlies but has been back training with the team in the lead-up to Monday's opener.
"He's following the set process. He's in good shape. He's training very well," de la Fuente said. "We'll have to see how the game progresses, but they're all feeling very well."
Spain is on the list of World Cup favorites, thanks in part to the presence of Yamal, who helped lead Spain to the title at Euro 2024, a tournament during which he turned 17. Despite how young he is, Yamal is considered one of the best players in the world and finished second in the 2025 Ballon d'Or voting.
On Sunday, De la Fuente hinted that if Yamal were to play in Monday's match, he would not start.
"Everything says that Lamine Yamal is ready to play tomorrow," he said. "Maybe not ready to play 90 minutes, but he can participate in the game.
"Lamine Yamal is ready to play a few minutes, and our medical team (made that) decision. If it was a question (if he was going to play), he wouldn't even be on the bench."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lamine Yamal injury update: Benched for Spain vs. Cape Verde World Cup match
Continue reading...
On Monday, Spain announced its first 11 through a video of the players' signatures. Yamal was not present in the video. Nor was he listed in the full starting lineup towards the end of the clip.
"Well, let me decide, right? The good news is Lamine is very fit ... he feels very well," Spain head coach Luis De La Fuente said about how many minutes Yamal would play vs Cape Verde.
The 18-year-old's status for the World Cup has been in doubt since he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury with Barcelona in late April. Yamal missed all of Spain's pre-tournament friendlies but has been back training with the team in the lead-up to Monday's opener.
"He's following the set process. He's in good shape. He's training very well," de la Fuente said. "We'll have to see how the game progresses, but they're all feeling very well."
Spain is on the list of World Cup favorites, thanks in part to the presence of Yamal, who helped lead Spain to the title at Euro 2024, a tournament during which he turned 17. Despite how young he is, Yamal is considered one of the best players in the world and finished second in the 2025 Ballon d'Or voting.
On Sunday, De la Fuente hinted that if Yamal were to play in Monday's match, he would not start.
"Everything says that Lamine Yamal is ready to play tomorrow," he said. "Maybe not ready to play 90 minutes, but he can participate in the game.
"Lamine Yamal is ready to play a few minutes, and our medical team (made that) decision. If it was a question (if he was going to play), he wouldn't even be on the bench."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lamine Yamal injury update: Benched for Spain vs. Cape Verde World Cup match
Continue reading...
