Spain Welcomes Yamal and Nico Back for World Cup Opener

Spain’s first real victory of this World Cup week did not come on a pitch in Atlanta, but on a training field on Thursday.

Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, the two explosive wingers who lit up Euro 2024, were back with the group, moving, sprinting, testing those fragile muscles that have dominated the conversation around La Roja’s build‑up. For a squad chasing back‑to‑back major titles, it felt like a deep, collective exhale.

Yamal, the Barcelona prodigy who has not played since pulling his hamstring on April 22, joined the session after weeks of careful recovery. On the opposite flank, Williams – absent for the final stretch of Athletic Bilbao’s season and out for a month – also trained, easing the tension that had quietly grown around Spain’s attack.

These are not fringe players. They were central to Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, stretching defences, breaking lines, and giving Luis de la Fuente’s side the width and chaos that turned tight games into statement wins. Losing both, even temporarily, changes the entire feel of the team.

The medical bulletins had been cautious. De la Fuente himself said earlier in the week that he expected the pair to be available to play some part in the World Cup opener against Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday, but warned that a starting role was unlikely. Thursday’s images on the training pitch backed up that optimism.

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

It was a simple line, but it cut to the heart of Spain’s mood: relief, and a sense that the band is getting back together, even if not all the instruments are ready for a full 90 minutes.

For now, the plan is continuity. Spanish media report that De la Fuente is set to stick with the XI that beat Peru 3-1 in their final warm-up friendly on Monday. That means Alex Baena and Ferran Torres are expected to keep their places on the wings, deputising for Yamal and Williams while the stars work towards full fitness.

Baena offers craft between the lines, Ferran brings movement and a nose for goal. They are capable options, and they proved as much against Peru. But everyone around this Spain camp knows the ceiling rises when Yamal and Williams are flying down the flanks, turning cautious full-backs and deep blocks into scrambled, panicked defences.

Cape Verde will not be taken lightly. World Cup openers have a habit of punishing any hint of complacency. Spain, though, can now prepare with a little more clarity: the system stays, the structure holds, and the two wide men who changed their football last summer are close enough to touch the tournament again.

The real question is no longer if Yamal and Williams will feature in this World Cup. It is how quickly Spain can get them from managed minutes to match-defining form.