Yamal feared for World Cup chances after sustaining hamstring injury

Lamine Yamal feared he might miss Spain's World Cup campaign after suffering a season-ending hamstring injury with Barcelona in April.

Yamal missed the final six games of the Blaugrana's LaLiga title-winning campaign, after sustaining the issue while converting a penalty in a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo on April 22.

That led to fears that the teenage sensation could miss this summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but he was included in Luis de la Fuente's 26-man squad earlier this week.

De la Fuente then said Yamal was expected to recover in time to feature in one of Spain's first two Group H games, versus Cape Verde on June 15 and Saudi Arabia on June 21.

In an interview with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that was published on Sunday, Yamal admitted the tournament was his first thought when he picked up the injury.

"I never had a hamstring injury like that, but I knew that it wasn't going to be a short recovery time," Yamal said.

"I was afraid that it was something serious or that it could relapse and that I would miss the World Cup.

"I remember the play where I got injured. I was praying inside for it not to be serious, for it to be a cramp or something like that, because I knew the World Cup was very close."

At Euro 2024, Yamal became the youngest-ever goalscorer at a Euros or World Cup, overtaking Pele, after the Brazil great scored as a 17-year-old against Wales at the 1958 World Cup.

Yamal, the Young Player of the Tournament in Germany, provided four assists – the most ever recorded by a player at a single edition of the Euros – having started the tournament as a 16-year-old.

Spain are the favourites to win the World Cup, with the Opta supercomputer (16%) giving them a higher chance than France (13%), England (11%) and Argentina (10%).

And as the reigning European champions, Spain are looking to become the fourth nation to simultaneously hold both the Euros title and the World Cup, and the first since they themselves did so between 2008 and 2012.

La Roja are unbeaten in their last 31 competitive matches (W25 D6) since a 2-0 loss in Scotland in March 2023, their longest-ever run of non-friendlies without defeat.

And Yamal knows expectations are high, adding: "I think that ever since the European Championship ended, we've all been thinking about this day, and we are all very excited. 

"We will enter the tournament as the European champions, and we are going to give it everything we have."