Deportes Quillón · Midfielder · #18 · Chile · 24 yrs
Spain manager on the values behind the nation’s coaching culture, the joy of teaching and Lamine Yamal’s otherworldly talentsOn the ground floor of the Spanish football federation’s headquarters in Las Rozas are two classrooms covered with photos of everyone who has played for la selección. More than 800 men are there, frames spilling into the corridor, but the coach who leads them to the World Cup is not. Luis de la Fuente’s international playing career took him only as far as the under-21s so his picture is missing, which is a pity – “I used to have hair like this,” he claims, hands recreating flowing locks – but he knows this place well. This is where he taught; it is also, he says, where he learned, his pupils not alone in going on to big things.The 2024 European Championship-winning coach settles into a sofa in a small room on the floor above. His squad named, these are the final days before flying to Chattanooga. Days of excitement and to “judge the load” as players clock in: 20 on the first day, Pedro Porro the next and Yéremy Pino the day after, then Mikel Merino and finally those who played in the Champions League final. Days to take it all in – “I’m so happy to be going to a World Cup” – and to take pride too. Continue reading...
The latest results by Spain and France will allow Argentina to return to the top of the FIFA rankings. However, that will also leave Lionel Messi and his teammates facing an unfavorable statistic. National teams are entering their final days of preparation before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In that context, Spain and France played friendly matches whose results will allow Argentina to reclaim the top spot in the FIFA rankings, although that may not be great news for Lionel Messi and his teammates. On Thursday, Spain played their final home match before departing for the United States, settling for a disappointing 1-1 draw against Iraq at Estadio Riazor in La Coruna. At the same time, France suffered a surprising 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes. As a result, Argentina will reclaim the top spot in the FIFA rankings when the next update is released on Monday. The rating calculations will favor Lionel Scaloni’s side regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s friendly against Honduras, as they will have 1,874 points even in the worst-case scenario, ahead of Spain’s 1,873 and France’s 1,869. Until now, the top spot belonged to France, who climbed to No. 1 during the March FIFA international window after overtaking Spain. Before that, Luis de la Fuente’s side had ended Argentina’s reign in July 2025, after the South Americans had led the rankings since winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. La Selección Argentina recuperó el primer puesto en la clasificación del Ranking FIFA 🇦🇷📘 https://t.co/dF03drYvUG pic.twitter.com/M0N8I0YkGm— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) June 4, 2026 The negative FIFA rankings statistic While returning to the top of the FIFA rankings may initially seem like good news for Argentina just days before the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America, history suggests otherwise. Since the FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992, no team entering a World Cup as the No. 1-ranked nation has gone on to win the tournament. In 1994, Germany held the top spot, but Brazil lifted the trophy. Brazil then entered the 1998 World Cup as the top-ranked team, only to lose the final to France. The team led by Zinedine Zidane arrived at the 2002 World Cup atop the rankings, but Brazil emerged as champions. Four years later, the South American power once again entered the tournament as the top-ranked team, yet Italy lifted the trophy. In 2010, Brazil remained No. 1 in the FIFA rankings and again fell short, while Spain won the tournament. The reigning champions failed to capitalize on the top ranking in 2014, as Germany claimed the title. The pattern repeated itself in 2018, when Germany entered the tournament atop the rankings but France became world champions. Finally, before Qatar 2022, Brazil led the rankings, yet Argentina went on to win the World Cup. Messi and his teammates must break several streaks The so-called curse of the FIFA rankings leader is just one of several streaks Lionel Messi and his teammates will have to overcome in their pursuit of the title in North America in 2026. They must also contend with a 64-year drought without a nation winning back-to-back World Cups, something Argentina have never accomplished in their history.
Spain will depart from Santiago de Compostela at 10am on Friday morning bound for Chattanooga, via Nashville, but seven of the eight men who made their debuts in the final preparation game before the World Cup will not be on board with them. Nor will the seleccion be flying west with a victory after they bid adios with a 1-1 draw against Iraq at Estadio Riazor. Which may not sound very good – and it really was not very good either, a 22-minute cameo from Mikel Merino about the best thing about it – but is no cause for alarm.Luis de la Fuente’s side will still be among the favourites in the US, Canada and Mexico and rightly so; this was not really his side, at least not recognisably so. Continue reading...
Dean Huijsen’s omission from Spain’s World Cup squad has become one of the most discussed stories following the announcement of Luis de la Fuente’s final 26-man list.The young Real Madrid defend...
Lamine Yamal opened up over the injury scare he had with Barcelona, claiming "I was afraid I could miss the World Cup" with Spain. Lamine Yamal‘s latest injury at FC Barcelona sent alarm bells ringing, raising fears that he could miss not only the end of the club season but the entire 2026 World Cup. Now cleared to join Spain‘s squad and expected to feature in the tournament, the 18-year-old has opened up about the moment of the injury, revealing he “was afraid I could miss the World Cup.” The scare came during Barcelona’s La Liga match against Celta Vigo on April 22, when Yamal sustained a biceps femoris injury in his left leg immediately after converting a penalty to open the scoring. The injury forced him to sit out the remainder of Barcelona’s season, though medical evaluations ultimately confirmed it would not rule him out of the World Cup. In a video released by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Yamal walked through the moment it happened: “I remember the sequence when I got injured. I was praying inside that it would be nothing, that it would just be a cramp or anything, because I could see the World Cup moment was so close and I knew it was a hamstring injury—which I had never had before, but I knew it wouldn’t be a short recovery time.“ The young forward also spoke to the emotional weight of those first moments after the injury. “So I was afraid it would be serious and, above all, that even if it wasn’t serious, I might relapse and could miss the World Cup… You’re going to play in a World Cup and your mind is as if you hadn’t played a single match all season. I really want to be able to make my debut,” he assured. Lamine Yamal suffered a muscle injury while playing for Barcelona on April 22. Yamal expected to be fit after Spain’s World Cup debut As a result of the injury, Yamal will miss the pre-tournament friendlies against Iraq and Peru, as well as Spain’s opening group stage game. La Roja face Cape Verde on Monday, June 15, with Yamal still expected to be in the final stages of his recovery at that point. Spain’s remaining Group H fixtures are against Saudi Arabia on June 21 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Uruguay on June 26 at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara. Yamal is expected to be available for both matches, giving him the chance to make his World Cup debut at a critical stage of the group phase. Yamal optimistic about the World Cup The player who became the youngest ever to win a European Championship back in 2024 has rapidly established himself as one of the most important figures in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain side. Now preparing for his first World Cup, the expectations are sky-high, including from Yamal himself. Singling out teammates such as Rodri, Mikel Oyarzabal, Pedri and Marc Cucurella among the reasons for his confidence, Yamal made clear that he and his teammates are arriving with championship intentions: “The moment has finally arrived. I think ever since the Euros ended, we were all thinking about this day coming, and we are all very excited. We arrive as the national team that we are, as the champions of Europe, and we will go all out.“
