Spain coach Luis de la Fuente is increasingly concerned about the ongoing conflict between Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid players, and its potential impact on La Roja’s performance at the 2026 World Cup.
The Barcelona star clashed with Dani Carvajal in the La Liga Clasico last October, and then again with Dean Hoesen in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia last week.
Carvajal attempted to mediate between Yamal and Hoesen, but the 18-year-old seemed unmoved. It appears the rift between the Barcelona star and the Real Madrid players persists and is even widening.
According to the newspaper AS, the conflicts between Yamal and the Real Madrid players are keeping De la Fuente up at night due to his anxiety. The coach believes these issues are disrupting the harmony within the Spanish national team and could potentially jeopardize La Roja’s chances of winning the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
De la Fuente is maintaining the core group of players who won the Euros and have enjoyed great cohesion for the past three years. He even refuses to include Juan García or Sergio Ramos to avoid any changes that could disrupt the team’s unity.
The coach believes the only way to preserve this stability is to reconcile Yamal, Carvajal, and Hoesen in March or before the World Cup kicks off in June, resolving all their differences. Otherwise, he fears, things will worsen, negatively impacting the team’s performance on the pitch and jeopardizing their chances in the World Cup.
It’s worth noting that the 2026 World Cup draw placed Spain in a group with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, and Cape Verde. The Euro 2024 champions will first meet in March, facing Egypt in a friendly and Argentina in the Faenásica tournament in Qatar.
