Spain's final build-up before Argentina is being shaped by a pair of training absences and one midfield choice that looks more settled than the noise around it. Lamine Yamal missed training in New Jersey on Thursday, Pedro Porro also sat out the session, and both are still expected to start at the weekend. The bigger selection call is in midfield, where Fabián Ruiz appears to have the edge over Pedri.
Yamal and Porro remain on the watch list
Yamal was wearing a bandage on his left thigh after limping following Spain's semi-final win over France, so the training absence was not entirely out of nowhere. His workload has also been carefully managed after a season curtailed by hamstring injury and surgery on a recurring groin issue. Even so, the expectation remains that he will be fine for Spain vs Argentina.
Porro's case sounds lighter. Luis de la Fuente said the defender was dealing with “muscle tightness”, but that it is not thought to leave him any doubt for the clash with Argentina. Spain have won their last 5 World Cup matches, which helps explain why there is more caution than panic around the two absences.
Ruiz's edge over Pedri
The more interesting call is not at full-back. It is in midfield, where Ruiz has been preferred as Rodri's partner, with Pedri on the bench. Rodri has played 646 minutes at the tournament, so Spain are clearly building around him as the fixed point in the middle.
Ruiz has a 6.94 rating at this World Cup, while Pedri's is 7.28. Those numbers do not tell the whole selection story, because Spain have already trusted Ruiz in the knockout rounds and, according to standard.co.uk, named the same team for the semi-finals as they did for the last-eight win over Belgium.
That is probably the strongest clue in the whole build-up. Spain look likely to keep the same side that so confidently dispatched tournament favourites France, with Unai Simón still ahead of David Raya and Joan Garcia as the undisputed No1. The final team news may still need a late check on Yamal and Porro, but the shape of the XI already looks close to fixed.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
