Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams set for limited role in Spain’s World Cup opener

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Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are available but unable to play a full 90 minutes during their opening World Cup match against Cape Verde on Monday.

Yamal, 18, and Williams, 23, missed the end of their respective domestic seasons after both suffering hamstring injuries. The expectation was that Yamal would miss the group-stage opener and would face a race to be fit for their second match against Saudi Arabia.

Neither Yamal nor Williams featured in Spain’s pre-tournament friendlies against Iraq and Peru, and De la Fuenta has said they are in the “same situation” — that they will be able to feature against Cape Verde but in a limited capacity.

“Let me decide who starts,” De la Fuente said at a news conference on Sunday. “Lamine is in perfect condition. He makes it to the (first game) in the physical condition we expected him to. He has trained excellently and we have all players available.

“We are following all the medical recommendations we have, from the national team and also from the clubs. Everyone can confirm Lamine is ready to be a part of the team tomorrow. Then, football can go in many different directions.

“He is not in a position to play the full 90 minutes, but he can participate if we feel it’s needed.”

On Williams, De la Fuente said: “He is in the same situation as Yamal. They have gone through a similar recovery process, and actually spent a lot of time together.

“We have the same approach with him, he can play at any given time if the match asks for it, but not from the start.”

Yamal’s hamstring injury was sustained during Barcelona’s La Liga victory over Celta Vigo on April 22. He recorded 24 goals and 18 assists for Barcelona in the 2025-26 season, adding a second La Liga title to his list of honours since his breakout 2023-24 campaign aged 16.

He, alongside Williams in attack, played a crucial role in Spain winning the European Championship in 2024.

Yamal will make his World Cup debut this summer, while Williams was a member of the team which exited the 2022 tournament in the round of 16.