Spain Welcomes Back Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams to Training
Spain’s World Cup build‑up finally brought a dose of good news on Thursday. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams were both back on the training pitch, easing growing anxiety around La Roja’s two most explosive wide men.
The session, held four days before Spain open their World Cup campaign against Cape Verde in Atlanta, offered exactly what Luis de la Fuente wanted to see: Yamal and Williams moving with the group, boots on, bibs on, part of the rhythm again.
Yamal has not played since April 22, when a hamstring injury halted his season with Barcelona and raised alarms over his availability for the tournament. Williams, the other half of Spain’s devastating Euro 2024 wing pairing, has also been sidelined, missing the final stretch of Athletic Bilbao’s campaign and going a month without competitive action.
Both were central to Spain’s charge to the European title last summer, stretching defences, terrifying full-backs and giving De la Fuente’s side the vertical threat it had lacked for years. Their absence this season has been felt at club and country level, and their fitness has dominated Spain’s pre‑tournament conversation.
The medical reality has forced Spain to be cautious. De la Fuente said earlier in the week he expected the pair to feature at some stage against Cape Verde, but made it clear a starting role for either was unlikely. The priority is to have them available for the long haul, not just the first whistle in Atlanta.
“We know that both of them are coming back from important injuries,” right-back Pedro Porro told reporters, underlining the sense of care around the duo. “They are recovering, they are happy, they are with the group and that is the most important thing.”
That last point matters. Being back in full training, laughing and working alongside teammates, changes the mood of a camp. Spain’s dressing room knows what it looks like when Yamal and Williams are fully fit: Euro 2024 was the proof.
For now, though, patience rules. Spanish media report that De la Fuente is set to stick with the XI that beat Peru 3-1 in Spain’s final warm‑up friendly, a performance that settled a few nerves and gave fringe players a chance to stake their claim. In that game, Alex Baena and Ferran Torres operated on the flanks, and they are expected to reprise those roles against Cape Verde, deputising while the star wingers build up their minutes.
Baena offers craft and subtlety between the lines; Torres brings movement, experience and an eye for goal. It is not the same raw electricity Yamal and Williams provide, but it is a structure De la Fuente trusts, and one that delivered in the dress rehearsal.
So Spain head into Atlanta with a blend of reassurance and restraint. Their two brightest wide talents are back where they belong, on the grass, with the ball, part of the plan again. They may not light up the World Cup from the very first minute on Monday.
But if Spain are still in the tournament when the stakes rise and the margins shrink, the sight of Yamal and Williams jogging out to the touchline could change everything.
