Spain Welcomes Back Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams to Training

Spain’s World Cup build‑up finally brought a piece of good news on Thursday. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams were back on the grass, back with the group, and for a squad eyeing another deep tournament run, that mattered almost as much as the result of any warm-up game.

The two wingers, electric throughout Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, had cast a long shadow over the opening week of preparations. Both arrived in camp short of minutes, heavy on treatment room hours, and with a nation wondering how sharp they could possibly be when the World Cup starts for La Roja against Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday.

On Thursday, those doubts eased. Not gone, but eased.

Yamal, Barcelona’s teenage phenomenon, had not played a competitive minute since pulling up with a hamstring injury on April 22. Every update since then has been measured, cautious, the kind of language that tends to make coaches and fans equally nervous. Williams, a relentless runner for Athletic Bilbao, had also been sidelined for a month after missing the end of his club’s season.

Both were out there again, moving, passing, smiling.

“We know that both of them are coming back from important injuries,” right-back Pedro Porro told reporters, underlining the significance of their presence rather than their level. “They are recovering, they are happy, they are with the group and that is the most important thing.”

For Luis de la Fuente, it is a delicate balance. Spain’s attack has been built around width, pace and directness, qualities Yamal and Williams supply in abundance. But the World Cup is a marathon disguised as a sprint. Rush them now and the risk is losing them when the tournament truly bites.

The coach has already laid out his stance this week: he expects both to be available to play some part against Cape Verde, but not from the first whistle. Spanish media report he will stick with the side that beat Peru 3-1 in their final warm-up friendly, a performance that calmed nerves and clarified roles.

That would mean Alex Baena and Ferran Torres starting on the flanks again, deputising for the two stars who changed Spain’s attacking identity last summer. Baena offers craft between the lines, Torres a more experienced, goal-hungry presence cutting in from wide. It is not the same as unleashing Yamal and Williams, but it is a plan, and right now Spain value stability as much as stardust.

The sight of the two Euro 2024 standouts back in full training gives De la Fuente options he feared he might not have. It also sends a message through the camp: the cavalry is coming, just not quite yet.

Spain will walk out in Atlanta with a familiar XI, a structure that worked against Peru, and two game-changers waiting in reserve. For a team with ambitions of going all the way again, that might be the smartest way to start.