Why World Cup winner Lamine Yamal was not firing on all cylinders in North America

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FT Desk

Spain won the 2026 World Cup thanks to a solitary goal from Ferran Torres in the final against Argentina.

After a tight affair in the first 90 minutes, the Barcelona forward scored in extra time as La Roja won the tournament for the second time in their history.

Like the other games in the competition, Spain had to rely on someone else to step up other than Lamine Yamal, who wasn't at his effervescent best in North America.

He undoubtedly did contribute to the tournament win and, more often than not, had to contend with being marked by two players down the right-hand side of the pitch, but it was ultimately a low-key event for the young Barcelona superstar.

Spain feared this may happen as Yamal travelled to the tournament while not 100% fit as at the end of April he suffered a hamstring injury in a league fixture against Celta Vigo that saw him sidelined for eight weeks.

In the first couple of games at the World Cup, his minutes were carefully managed by head coach Luis de la Fuente. When he did eventually play, he only scored one goal, though he did complete the most dribbles over the entire tournament with 35.

Former team-mate Robert Lewandowski, who only left Barca this summer for Chicago Fire, believes the world didn't see Yamal at his best.

"Honestly, no, we didn't [see his best this tournament]. The best performance, the best Lamine for me, of course, wasn't the last season, but two seasons ago, that was for me now the best version of Lamine Yamal," Lewandowski told ESPN.

"He's still young, he came to the World Cup after injury and he didn't play for like eight weeks so it's tough if you don't play eight weeks and you have to start playing in the world cup, then you don't have time for the training just from game to game. But he showed really good quality. The Spain players and the team helped Lamine and Lamine also helped the whole team. I think that this cooperation was perfect."

The former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker revealed that he was backing Spain to win the World Cup, due to Poland's absence and the friends he had in the Spanish squad.

"I know a lot of players from Spain and I spent so much time in Barcelona with them, so I supported them a lot," he explained.

"Of course, I know from Argentina personally only Leo, but I know that he won the last World Cup. That's why I support the Spanish national team because if you play with them, you spend a lot of time together then it's easier to support this team.

"I was happy because I know they were ready to win the World Cup. They are very young and the future is in front of them."

In addition to that hamstring injury, Yamal has also been dealing with a pubalgia issue over the past year or so.

Often described as a "mystery injury," pubalgia isn't actually one specific issue. It's an umbrella term that describes several chronic problems in the lower abdomen and groin area.

Adductor tears, abdominal strains or hernia-related problems can all be classified as pubalgia. This explains why players have vastly different recovery timelines despite ostensibly suffering from the same injury.