“I hope Lamine Yamal will stay with us for a long time. For now, my focus is on the game ahead,” Luis de la Fuente said upon arriving in Tbilisi, where Spain will play host Georgia.

Earlier this week, Lamine Yamal was the most controversial topic in Spain, adding to the tension between the Spanish national team and Barcelona.

De la Fuente.jpg
De la Fuente does not want Yamal's story to affect the team. Photo: SEFutbol

Barca were criticized for doing everything to prevent Yamal from playing. For his part, De la Fuente said that "he left disappointed and hurt" .

According to the Spanish captain, “Lamine wants to play these two important matches” . That is his chance to shine and become the hero who brings home the 2026 World Cup ticket for “La Roja”.

De la Fuente himself, however, tried to keep the Yamal story out of training. He wanted the players to focus entirely on their skills to avoid risks against Georgia – a team still hoping for a play-off spot.

“The whole team is eager to qualify for the World Cup despite all the difficulties. We want to achieve our goal as soon as possible, and that means winning,” De la Fuente emphasized.

Without Yamal, he also lost Nico Williams, Rodri, Pedri, Dani Carvajal, but De la Fuente is satisfied with the team he has in hand.

“Spain have very good players and can compete with any team. That gives the team confidence. In this match, we will try to win . ”

Mathematically, a win over Georgia is not enough for “La Roja” to qualify if Türkiye also wins over Bulgaria.

However, Spain will only lose the top spot if they lose to Turkey in Sevilla in 3 days time by a huge margin (+15 vs +3). In other words, 3 points in Georgia also means they pocket a ticket to the 2026 World Cup .

Spain.jpg
Spanish players are confident ahead of the Georgia match. Photo: SEFutbol

De la Fuente is expected to build a midfield with Zubimendi and Mikel Merino , who are members of Arsenal, who are leading the Premier League table.

Fermin Lopez is likely to play as a “false 9”, pulling Ferran Torres to the left wing to replace Nico. Yamal’s right wing attack position will be given to Dani Olmo.

Spain have now equalled the record of 29 official unbeaten matches of the legendary team that won two European Championships (2008 and 2012) and two World Cups (2010). A win in Georgia would make history (the world record is 31 matches, held by Italy).

Force:

Georgia: Kakabadze , Nika Gagnidze , Gabriel Sigua , Chakvetadze , Mikautadze are injured.

Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Rodri, Carvajal, Nico Williams injured.

Expected lineup:

Georgia (4-3-3): Mamardashvili; Kakabadze, Kashia, Goglichidze, Gocholeishvili; Kiteishvili, Mekvabishvili, Kochorashvili; Zivzivadze, Kvilitaia, Kvaratskhelia.

Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Pedro Porro , Laporte, Huijsen, Cucurella; Mikel Merino, Zubimendi, Fabian Ruiz; Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres.

Match odds: Spain handicap 1 3/4

Goal rate: 3

Prediction: Spain win 2-0 .

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nhan-dinh-bong-da-georgia-vs-tay-ban-nha-vong-loai-world-cup-2026-2462970.html