Spain coach counting on Yamal and Williams fitness for World Cup
MADRID: Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Tuesday he was counting on wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams to be fit and available for the World Cup next month. Yamal, 18, suffered a hamstring injury in late April, which has caused him to miss the rest of the season for Barcelona, though his club have said he should be fit in time for the start of this summer’s showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Athletic Bilbao’s Williams picked up a muscle injury on Sunday, while Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino is also on the sidelines after breaking his right foot three months ago. “I think that all the players who have been mentioned will be fit and available for the start of the World Cup and I believe for the first match,” De la Fuente told journalists. “But if it’s not for the first match, it would be for the second or third, and it doesn’t cause any major setbacks,” the Spanish coach continued, adding it had been “a very tough year in terms of injuries.” “The world of injuries, which is the tragedy of sport, is what truly keeps us under a lot of pressure, especially in this critical phase because injuries that occur from now on, any minor muscular injury, are really difficult to recover from,” he added. Meanwhile, De la Fuente confirmed that his World Cup squad list will include 26 players but that there would be additional players who would be included for a friendly against Iraq on June 4. Spain’s World Cup opener will be against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta.