The 2026 World Cup may not be in Yamal's favor

For his debut World Cup, Lamine Yamal is set to start on the substitutes' bench instead of the field, presenting tough hurdles for him and manager De La Fuente that are far from straightforward to overcome.

First, he must regain his fitness and form after a left thigh biceps femoris injury sustained in late April during the match against Celta Vigo. Since then, Barcelona's number 10 has focused on a recovery process expected to last two months. However, his off-field life is causing concern due to his frequent appearances at parties and rumors of dating famous TikToker Ines Garcia.

This time, both Barcelona and the national team are in close communication and have agreed that Yamal will miss the early part of the tournament. Fortunately for De La Fuente, Spain's first opponent is Cape Verde, a side Spain can comfortably beat even without Yamal. According to Spanish media, the 19-year-old forward's participation in the second group match against Saudi Arabia on June 21 is also doubtful. He is most likely to return only for the final group game against Uruguay on June 27.

On the positive side, Yamal gains additional time to reach peak fitness for the knockout stages, but this also means the prodigy from Rocafonda will struggle to achieve optimal form. This leads to another challenge: he must adapt to a different squad than in recent tournaments, as well as diverse opponents from around the world, with a playing intensity higher than the familiar teams in Europe.

Naturally, the young forward is still surrounded by familiar teammates and a system built over many years, where he is a key figure. However, once back in the starting lineup, Yamal will find it difficult to have a seamless attacking partner in Nico Williams, who is also injured and no longer at the peak form seen at Euro 2024.

In Germany, Yamal established a strong connection with Dani Carvajal, but De La Fuente's young talent will need to build a new link on the right flank, likely with either Pedro Porro or Marcos Llorente, both of whom have different playing styles from Carvajal. If he fails to make progress with these teammates, it will severely impact his ability to perform at World Cup level, as well as Spain's performance, since La Roja's attack relies heavily on number 19.

In other positions, Yamal faces no issues because Spain has never lacked creative partners for him, such as Pedri or Olmo. One major challenge to address is the pressure of expectations placed on football prodigies at the World Cup.

After winning Euro 2024, Yamal delivered an unconvincing performance in the 2025 Nations League. In the final against Portugal, he completely "went missing" against Nuno Mendes. Defenders will target Yamal just as Gomes did. Playing in the World Cup is especially difficult; the challenges are not only technical or tactical but also mental, dealing with expectations, pressure, and global scrutiny at just 19 years old.

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