Lamine Yamal Ready for Spain's World Cup Opener Against Cape Verde

Spain will walk into their World Cup opener with their brightest talent available and their ambition laid bare.

Lamine Yamal, the teenager carrying a nation’s excitement on his shoulders, has been declared in “perfect condition” to face Cape Verde on Monday, with Luis de la Fuente confirming the Barcelona winger has won his race against time.

Yamal missed the run-in of the 2025-26 season after a hamstring injury in April, a setback that threatened to derail his World Cup. Spain nursed him through rehabilitation, measured every step, and now the payoff comes on the biggest stage.

“The good news is that Lamine is in perfect condition,” De la Fuente told reporters on the eve of the game. “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.”

The caveat is clear. Yamal will not be thrown straight into a 90-minute shift. His minutes will be rationed, his workload controlled. The same applies to Williams, another key attacking outlet whose fitness has been a concern.

“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 explained. The pair have trained together for days, building rhythm and understanding, and the coach left no doubt: if the game calls for them, he will not hesitate.

Spain arrive with the weight of history and expectation pressing down. They are the favourites to win the World Cup, according to Opta’s supercomputer, and they are chasing rare territory: only three nations have ever held the European Championship and World Cup at the same time. La Roja did it once before in their golden era. Now they want to join that elite group again, two years on from their continental triumph in Germany.

The numbers, though, tell a more sobering story. Since lifting the trophy in 2010, Spain’s World Cup record has unravelled. A group-stage collapse. Two consecutive last-16 exits, both on penalties. Only once in their last 14 participations have they gone as far as the semi-finals – that fabled run in South Africa. They have won just one of their last six matches at the tournament, a 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica in the 2022 group stage that felt more like an outlier than a turning point.

That is the backdrop to Cape Verde. A game Spain are expected to control, dominate, and win. A game that will still be watched closely for signs of whether this version of La Roja can turn potential into something more ruthless.

De la Fuente knows he must balance long-term ambition with short-term risk. Yamal and Williams are not just names on a teamsheet; they are the players who can tilt tight matches, who can give Spain the cutting edge they have so often lacked in recent World Cups. Managing them carefully now could define how far Spain travel in this tournament.

Away from the fitness bulletins, the Spain boss also found himself addressing club football intrigue. Reports suggest Marc Cucurella is close to a move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, a transfer that would thrust the defender into an even harsher spotlight.

De la Fuente, though, brushed aside any concern that speculation might seep into the national camp. He praised Cucurella in unmistakable terms.

“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.”

That kind of endorsement underlines how settled De la Fuente feels with his core. He has his left-back. He has his wide forwards clearing the final medical hurdles. He has a squad that, on paper, looks built to go deep.

Now comes the hard part. Spain have the supercomputer’s backing, the talent, and a fully available Lamine Yamal. What they do with all of that, starting against Cape Verde, will define whether this generation writes its own history or lives in the shadow of 2010.