"I never dreamed I'd be here. But I do believe it can be achieved." That's Luis de la Fuente summing up Spain's World Cup situation in two sentences — honest enough to admit how far he's come, confident enough to believe the trophy is within reach.
In a sit-down interview with AS deep inside the Spanish Football Federation's training complex, Spain's head coach covered everything: a genuine injury scare with Lamine Yamal, the painful calls on Carvajal and Morata, and why he refuses to let anyone crown La Roja before a ball is kicked.
Lamine Yamal: the scare nobody wanted to talk about
"We were very concerned," De la Fuente said of Yamal's injury. And not just a little. He suggested the damage could have kept the 18-year-old out for longer than six weeks — which, at a tournament where Spain open against Cape Verde, would have been a serious blow to their prospects. Instead, the recovery has moved ahead of schedule. De la Fuente says Yamal will be ready for the opening game, though whether he actually plays it is a different question.
This is a coach who's already thinking in terms of a marathon. Heat, altitude shifts, limited recovery windows, constant travel — he flagged physical conditioning as potentially the defining factor of this entire tournament. Yamal at 70% for six games is a worse outcome than Yamal at 100% for five. That calculus will shape every early decision Spain make.
Victor and Nico Williams are also being monitored, though De la Fuente expects all three to be available from the start. Fermín López, by contrast, won't be there at all — and that's the absence that genuinely stings the coach. "This could have been his World Cup," he said. It's a reminder that squad selection at this level is as much about bad luck as bad decisions.
Carvajal, Morata, and the art of the difficult call
Álvaro Morata came to Las Rozas in person. De la Fuente described the mood in the dressing room — the warmth, the shared memories — before explaining why sentiment never actually drives the call. "They leave behind an unforgettable legacy," he said of both Morata and Dani Carvajal. "But they knew that when the time came to make a decision, we would make it."
That's not cold. That's just how this squad operates. De la Fuente has built a culture around collective performance over individual prestige, and it's worked — a Nations League and a European Championship in the bank. Spain's price in the outright market reflects exactly that consistency.
He also addressed the players who attract raised eyebrows from the outside. Without naming names, he acknowledged there are squad members who consistently outperform their club form when wearing the Spain shirt. It's not a myth — some players are built for international football, for the specific demands of De la Fuente's system. That's a legitimate selection argument, even if it's a harder one to sell to the public.
Favourite? Yes. But so are five other teams.
De la Fuente's perspective on Spain's status is worth taking seriously before placing any outright bets. "Are we bigger favourites than France, Brazil or Argentina?" he asked, rhetorically. The answer, he implied, is no — and he's right to say it. Argentina are world champions. France have the depth of a club side. Brazil remain Brazil. England reached a European final. The Netherlands, Portugal, and several African nations can all hurt anyone on a given day.
Spain are genuine contenders. That's different from being overwhelming favourites, and punters treating them as a near-certainty should adjust their thinking. The best recent evidence — the Euros — shows this team can win tournaments. It doesn't guarantee they will.
His focus, he repeated, is not New Jersey. It's Atlanta. "The most important game is Cape Verde." Get that wrong, and the conversation about outright winners becomes irrelevant fast.
- Lamine Yamal's recovery is ahead of schedule; full availability expected for the opener
- Fermín López's injury is the omission that hurts De la Fuente most
- Carvajal and Morata were left out on merit, not sentiment
- De la Fuente rates France, Brazil, and Argentina as equal or larger threats
- Physical conditioning flagged as a decisive factor given travel and climate demands
"If our opponents allow us to," De la Fuente said when asked directly whether Spain would win it. He laughed. But there was nothing in the interview to suggest he doesn't mean it.
