{"id":2231,"date":"2026-05-31T14:07:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T14:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2231"},"modified":"2026-05-31T14:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T14:07:54","slug":"spains-lamine-yamal-says-he-was-scared-of-missing-the-world-cup-after-he-injured-his-hamstring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2231","title":{"rendered":"Spain’s Lamine Yamal says he was scared of missing the World Cup after he injured his hamstring"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE – Spain\u2019s Lamine Yamal, right, scores his side third goal during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal second leg match between the Netherlands and Spain at Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Alberto Saiz, File)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

MADRID \u2014 Lamine Yamal was scared of missing the World Cup<\/a> after injuring his hamstring and prayed that he could recover in time.<\/p>

Read more Acu\u00f1a Jr. hits 2 homers as Braves beat Reds for their 40th win<\/a><\/p>\n

Yamal is expected to be fit for the tournament that begins on June 11 in North America. He injured<\/a> his left hamstring while converting a penalty kick with Barcelona in a Spanish league match on April 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never had a hamstring injury like that but I knew that it wasn\u2019t going to be a short recovery time,\u201d Yamal said in an interview with the Spanish soccer federation published on Sunday. \u201cI was afraid that it was something serious or that it could relapse and that I would miss the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old Yamal went down after converting a first-half penalty kick in the game against Celta Vigo. He scored and immediately looked to the bench to signal he was hurt. He dropped to the ground as his teammates arrived to celebrate, then appeared to grab the back of his left leg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the play in which I got injured,\u201d Yamal said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>

Read more How Dylan Crews rebuilt his swing and earned his way back to the big leagues<\/a><\/p>\n

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said last week after including Yamal in his World Cup squad that the forward was expected to be ready to play either the first or second Spain match. La Roja will debut against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta. It then faces Saudi Arabia on June 21 in Atlanta and Uruguay on June 26 in Guadalajara, Mexico.<\/p>\n

Yamal is expected to lead the Spain squad that will try to win its second world title. It won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa in 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment has finally arrived,\u201d Yamal said. \u201cI think that ever since the European Championship ended, we\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spain officially began its World Cup preparations on Saturday in Madrid. Some 2,000 people watched the team\u2019s first training session on Sunday.<\/p>

Read more PSG is targeting a Champions League threepeat. So how do you make the best better?<\/a><\/p>\n

___ AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lamine Yamal says he was scared of missing the World Cup after injuring his hamstring and prayed that he could recover in time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSpain's Lamine Yamal says he was scared of missing the World Cup after he injured his hamstring - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2231\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spain's Lamine Yamal says he was scared of missing the World Cup after he injured his hamstring - 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