Lamine Yamal is available for Spain's World Cup opener against Cape Verde Islands, but Luis de la Fuente has made the limit clear. Yamal is ready to be involved in Spain vs Cape Verde Islands, just not for a full 90 minutes. He completed a full training session with Spain in Chattanooga, and the opener is set for 15 June at 16:00 UTC.

Why Spain are prepared to use him

De la Fuente said: "He is in condition to participate on Monday. We will assess the circumstances. You have an idea and the game takes you to something else. Lamine is ready to play but not to play the 90 minutes."

That is the useful part of this update for Spain. Yamal has not featured in a competitive match since suffering an injury during Barcelona's clash against Real Betis in April, yet the signs from training are strong enough for him to be considered again. The manager also said, "Football is a risky activity. In three minutes or 90 minutes you can get injured as there is always risk." Spain are not pretending the issue has gone away, they are managing it.

His recent Barcelona form explains why they are willing to take that step. In his last five appearances before the layoff, Yamal produced an average rating of 8.14, scored three goals and added two assists. He also had a perfect 10 rating in Barcelona's 4-1 win on 2026-04-11. That is the sort of output that gets a player back into the conversation quickly.

Barcelona can only watch the call

Barcelona will be involved in the conversation, but not the decision. De la Fuente said: "The communication with Barca is fantastic, there is an extraordinary collaboration. There is constant contact with Barca but I am the one who will make the decision. I'll assess whether he has to play or not."

So the club can stay informed, but Spain will decide whether Yamal plays and how much he plays. That matters because the most cautious reading of this situation is also the most accurate one. He looks available, he does not look like a player being thrown straight back into a full workload.

If he does feature against Cape Verde, it will be as a controlled return, not a full restart. Spain have a fit-enough Yamal back in the squad, and the only real question left is how many minutes De la Fuente feels comfortable giving him.

Compiled by the ClutchBrief Desk with AI assistance, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →