De la Fuente feels the strain as Lamine Yamal club v country debate rages in Spain

Head coach hits out at ‘lies’ as suggestions of preferential treatment for young star overshadow preparations for England game in Madrid From the London Palladium to Madrid’s Metropolitano, they’re all here. On Sunday night, the footballers who lifted the game’s biggest awards me

Head coach hits out at ‘lies’ as suggestions of preferential treatment for young star overshadow preparations for England game in Madrid From the London Palladium to Madrid’s Metropolitano, they’re all here. On Sunday night, the footballers who lifted the game’s biggest awards meet again three weeks later and on the field this time, dinner jackets but not a single man left behind. Harry Kane, the Ballon d’Or and Gerd Müller trophy winner.

Unai Simón, holder of the Lev Yashin award . Luis de la Fuente , the coach of the year who on Thursday night announced that also joining them will be Lamine Yamal , the kid who lifted the Kopa award as the best young player for the third year running and said he would have preferred Pau Cubarsí to be standing there instead. And, yes, Cubarsí will be there too for the final Nations League group game.

At 1.45pm the world and European champions landed back at Madrid’s Barajas airport from Prague, where they had won again, before making their way by bus to their Las Rozas HQ, around the M40 motorway to the north-west of the capital. At about the same time, Lamine Yamal arrived from Barcelona, due in at midday. As was Mikel Oyarzabal , scorer of the winner at Euro 2024 and Spain’s top marksman this summer (not that he would ever tell you so) from San Sebastián.

At 7.30pm, they trained, preparing to meet the World Cup semi-finalists and the team they defeated in Berlin at the end of Euro 2024. Two starters from the World Cup final will be absent: Dani Olmo and the captain, 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri , are injured. But everyone else will be there.

Continue reading...