Spain's national team coach,Luis de la Fuente, believes key forwards Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams will recover in time for squad's World Cup opener .
Both were out at end of their domestic seasons with hamstring issues. Yet,de la Fuente included them in World Cup roster last month, betting on their full fitness for the global stage.
Before Thursday’s friendly against Iraq,the coach detailed players' recovery. "We are perfectly coordinated with clubs,giving them continuation in a programme set some time ago…truth is players are improving every day," de la Fuente said,adding injured members were "progressing as expected."
Yamal and Williams didn't play in the prep match in A Coruna versus Iraq. On young star Yamal,de la Fuente was cautious:
If everything continues as it has been so far,he could be ready on June 15,but that doesn’t guarantee that he will play.
World Cup kicks off June 11 across Canada, Mexico,and United States. Spain,one of tournament favourites, starts Group H on June 15 in Atlanta against Cape Verde.
De la Fuente called the championship "historic because it is the World Cup in which the most teams have a realistic prospect of winning." Spain faces Saudi Arabia on June 21 in Atlanta,then Uruguay in Guadalajara on June 27. So much at stake…
