Lamine Yamal is back in Spain squad after spat with Barcelona over injury

By Canadian Press on October 3, 2025.

MADRID (AP) — Lamine Yamal is back in Spain’s squad for its upcoming World Cup qualifiers after recovering from an injury that became the source of a public spat between Barcelona’s coach and the national team.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick had lashed out at Spain for using Yamal in two easy wins in early September, saying it had “not taken care” of him and insinuating that he had played while injured.

The 18-year-old Yamal then missed four games for Barcelona due to “discomfort in the pubic area”.

The Spain camp denied he had played while hurt, saying Yamal had passed all its standard medical procedures and that Barcelona had not indicated he had any fitness issues.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Friday he had “no conflict with Hansi Flick,” and defended his handling of the health of his players.

“We take zero risks, only the risks that any player takes on when one plays a sport,” De la Fuente said. “If a player comes with the team it means he is healthy, and if he plays it means he is in playing condition.”

Yamal has since played two games for Barcelona, including 90-plus minutes of its 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this week.

Barcelona visits Sevilla on Sunday in La Liga, its last game before the international break, when Spain hosts Georgia on Oct. 11 and Bulgaria three days later.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press