Yamal suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in April, causing him to miss the final six matches of Barcelona's LaLiga-winning campaign and be doubtful for Spain's Group H opener.

Williams, meanwhile, sustained a muscle issue in early May and sat out Athletic Club's final three league games. 

Yamal and Williams – as well as Osasuna forward Victor Munoz – have remained at Spain's training base in Tennessee rather than travelling to Mexico for Monday's friendly versus Peru, which comes after a 1-1 draw with Iraq on Thursday.

But with just seven days to go until the European champions begin their push for a second World Cup triumph, De la Fuente is optimistic regarding their chances of being involved.

"If there are no setbacks in the coming days, we expect them to be ⁠available on the 15th," De la Fuente told reporters. "I think all three ⁠will be in a position ‌to play.

"The most important thing is that those timelines are being met and will continue to be met, so they can be ⁠with us and be available to be selected at some point in the match.

"I have in my head how to start the World Cup if there are no adverse circumstances. Football can always surprise you, but I won't tell you our lineup."

11 – Lamine Yamal ha logrado 11 asistencias en 25 partidos con la @SEFutbol entre todas las competiciones, más que cualquier otro jugador bajo las órdenes de Luis de la Fuente. Estelar. pic.twitter.com/4yFvNfSp2z

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 3, 2026

On Sunday, footage shared on social media showed Gavi catching Rodri with a late challenge during a training session, with the Manchester City star going down awkwardly after his ankle was trodden on.

Gavi was criticised over the incident, but De la Fuente says there is no issue between the pair and that the Barcelona midfielder's feisty approach is one of his best attributes. 

"This is football, it's training. The players give everything and no one has to apologise. Everything is perfect," he insisted. 

"Gavi has energy, impetus, and that is one of his virtues. He has to ration the energy, but I want this Gavi in my team, without any doubt."

Spain are hoping to become only the fourth nation to simultaneously hold both the European Championship and World Cup crowns, after West Germany (Euro 1972, World Cup 1974), France (World Cup 1998, Euro 2000), and La Roja themselves (Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012).

However, Spain's 2010 triumph is the only time they have gone further than the quarter-finals in their last 14 participations at the World Cup, while they have only won one of their last six matches at the 2018 and 2022 tournaments (D4 L1).

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The club are yet to officially announce Mourinho's return, though Perez previously stated during his successful presidential campaign that the former boss would replace Alvaro Arbeloa if he remained in office.

Mourinho previously took charge of Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning 126 of his 174 games at the helm (D27 L21); his 72.4% win percentage with Los Blancos is the highest of any team he has managed.

He won one LaLiga title (2011-12), one Copa del Rey (2010-11) and one Supercopa de Espana (2012) during his time in the Spanish capital, with Madrid only winning the league four times in 13 years since Mourinho's departure.

The 63-year-old is currently contracted with Benfica, guiding them to a third-place finish in the league despite going unbeaten in 2025-26.

But following Marco Silva's departure from Fulham, he is expected to join Benfica, with Mourinho's return to the Santiago Bernabeu now imminent. 

Madrid have failed to win a trophy in each of their last two seasons, but Perez is determined to change that with the appointment of Mourinho.

"We have won the elections and will continue working to keep winning titles," Perez said. "I am still here, and I am here to defend Real Madrid.

Florentino Pérez: “We have won the elections and will continue working to keep winning titles.”

— Real Madrid C.F.  (@realmadriden) June 7, 2026

"We will continue working so that Real Madrid keeps winning titles, and we will fight until the end to achieve the 16th European Cup.

"We will continue to take pride in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the best stadium in the world.

"Proud to have the best players in the world, proud to welcome back one of the best coaches in the world, a Madridista like Jose Mourinho.

"And rest assured, with me as president, Real Madrid has been, is, and will always remain owned by its members."

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The game in Odense was abandoned with the hosts leading 2-1 with 65 minutes played, after Eriksen collapsed.

The Wolfsburg midfielder previously suffered a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland and was subsequently fitted with a pacemaker.

A brief statement from the Danish Football Federation (DBU) said Eriksen "regained consciousness very quickly" on Sunday, and team doctor Morten Boesen has now offered a further update on his condition.

Latest update from national team doctor Morten Boesen. pic.twitter.com/ZxiL6UjIWc

— Fodboldlandsholdene (@dbulandshold) June 8, 2026

"I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well," Boesen said in a statement posted to Eriksen's Instagram story and the DBU's social media channels on Monday.

"He is with family and in good spirits. The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home.

"We are taking good care of the players and staff and remain in regular contact with them."

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Having taken the reins on an interim basis following Gennaro Gattuso's dismissal, which came in the aftermath of Italy failing to reach a third consecutive World Cup, Baldini named 21 uncapped players in his squad to face Luxembourg and Greece.

Francesco Pio Esposito scored in both games as the Azzurri claimed a pair of 1-0 wins, with their lineup against Luxembourg being their youngest since December 1912.

Antonio Conte appears to be the leading candidate for the permanent Italy job, though an audacious swoop for former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has also been mentioned as a possibility.

When asked if he would return to his role as under-21 head coach following Sunday's win over Greece, or get another chance to impress when the senior team open their Nations League campaign in September, Baldini said: "It doesn't matter to me.

"I simply wanted to be useful. I am part of the Italy family. I coached these matches because I wanted my players to be appreciated for what they have achieved with me."

When told some pundits wished for him to stay on, he replied: "Thank you, but what matters to me is doing my job well. Unfortunately, in football, people are quick to put labels on you.

"I believe the best response to those labels is what these boys have shown on the pitch. I'm not someone who came out of nowhere. Fate brought me here, but the journey has been difficult."

Pio Esposito's goal once again seals the win #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/hFX5vcAlI9

— Italy (@Azzurri_En) June 7, 2026

Inter striker Esposito is just the fourth player to score on each of his first three starts for Italy, after Omar Enrique Sivori, Riccardo Carapellese and Annibale Frossi. 

He now has five international goals, with only Giuseppe Meazza (11) scoring more times for the Azzurri before turning 21. 

The 20-year-old was one of the most experienced players in Baldini's squad, which was led by Euro 2020-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, and he is now intrigued to see how his young players develop in the future. 

"I know the value of these players," Baldini said. "When young players understand that having rules is a resource rather than a punishment, they have reached the level of maturity needed to become an important team.

"Now they just need to keep growing. I was hoping we would get a little bit of luck as well, because luck matters in all aspects of life.

"I wanted them to gain confidence from this experience. Having rules and a proper lifestyle is not a punishment."

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The Three Lions beat New Zealand 1-0 in the first of their pre-World Cup friendlies on Saturday in Tampa, Florida, with Harry Kane on target.

Tuchel named a completely different starting XI for each half, with Bellingham wearing the captain's armband for the second period after replacing Morgan Rogers.

Bellingham only contributed to 15 goals in 46 appearances for Madrid in all competitions last season (nine goals, six assists), making it comfortably his worst campaign yet with Los Blancos (23 goals and 13 assists in 2023-24, 14 goals and 13 assists in 2024-25).

And, after missing the start of the season due to injury, Bellingham only started four of England's 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Rogers, on the other hand, was one of three players to be involved in all eight, alongside Kane and Declan Rice.

Bellingham completed all 32 of his passes against New Zealand, 14 of which were in the final third, though he failed to create a chance for a team-mate after Rogers laid on two.

And when asked if Bellingham faced competition for his spot, Tuchel said: "Yes. He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters. 

"These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are like 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.

"He looks good. He looks good in training. I think he is in a sweet spot at the moment, because he has had his break and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch after injury."

England handed minutes to 22 different players against New Zealand, the first time they had done so in any fixture since June 2004 against Iceland, a 6-1 win in their final warm-up game before Euro 2004.

Touching on the competition in his group, Tuchel said: "I think the players want to impress and they want to impress me. That's why we selected this group.

"I feel they do it in a very complicit way. That's the spirit that we want to have and the spirit that we will need throughout the tournament.

"We don't want to have guys on the bench who are thinking, 'he is doing bad, so I may have a chance'. I don't think they play against each other, but they are happy to push each other. 

"I think they can put it into perspective. They know that they haven't played together, some of them, since November. Some of them came from holidays, they have to restart the engines. Put it into perspective – everything is fine."

Tuchel was then asked if Bellingham was part of England's leadership group for the World Cup, but he would only confirm that Arsenal midfielder Rice was his vice-captain.

"I never talk about the leadership group," he said. "Declan is my vice-captain. We had this talk when Harry was not in camp with us."

Tuchel has won 10 of his first 13 matches in charge of England, with only Glenn Hoddle (12) needing fewer games to reach double figures for victories in charge of the Three Lions (Fabio Capello and Walter Winterbottom also 13).

England face Costa Rica in their last public warm-up match on Wednesday, with a behind-closed-doors contest against Miami United also on the agenda before facing Croatia on June 17.

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Netherlands take on World Cup debutants Uzbekistan at Icahn Stadium, hoping to bounce back from their shock 1-0 defeat to Algeria before they jetted off to North America.

The Oranje's defeat saw them lose their final home match before a major tournament for only the fourth time, having previously done so in 1934, 1938 and 2004. 

Koeman made the decision to replace his entire team against Algeria, with six of those changes coming at half-time, including Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven. 

Netherlands come up against an Uzbekistan side that were beaten 2-0 by co-hosts Canada last time out, while it will also be the first ever meeting between the two nations. 

And while Koeman insisted that almost every player within his 26-man squad would play in their final World Cup warm-up, he said the team that lines up to start the match will likely be the one that faces Japan in their Group F opener on June 14. 

"We want to use the first ​match to make as few changes as possible. We have ⁠to wait and see if that works," Koeman told reporters. 

"We are going to play ​the first match largely with our starting team. It is also good for guys who are not 100% fit who can then play in the second match.

"That ​is why we are playing two matches. We have 26 players and everyone ​gets minutes to play. That's what you want."

Work in progress.

#NEDUZB #NothingLikeOranje #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/tP0oOb5BKO

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) June 7, 2026

Netherlands also face Sweden and Tunisia in their other group fixtures as they aim to improve on their quarter-final exit to Argentina in Qatar four years ago. 

And one player who will be hoping to play his way into Koeman's side is Jurrien Timber, who featured in Arsenal's Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. 

Timber had been sidelined with a groin injury, and the Netherlands boss conceded that there were still some concerns surrounding the defender's fitness. 

"If he ⁠trains and is fully fit, he always makes a good impression. That hasn't been the case every day, so ​we have to make a decision," Koeman added. 

"He ​participated in ⁠training, and we are going to sit down with the doctor and Jurrien at the end of [Sunday] afternoon to see whether he is going to start ⁠or ​not."

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Feyenoord finished second in the Eredivisie, which was enough to qualify for the Champions League next season, but ended up 19 points behind runaway champions PSV. 

The 42-year-old, who was only appointed as Brian Priske's successor in February 2025, won 30 of his 50 matches in charge across all competitions (D9 L19). 

Van Persie's dismissal follows the appointment ​of a new general manager, Robert ​Eenhoorn, and technical director Devy Rigaux at the club. 

"Robin van Persie has given everything for the club in the past 1.5 years," Rigaux said in a statement on Feyenoord's website.

"He certainly deserves credit for ending a difficult season with second place in the end. With that, Champions League football was secured, which is, of course, very important.

"We have conducted a thorough analysis. We have included the development of the game delivered and the downward trend in terms of points, both in Europe and the Eredivisie.

"The conclusion was that it would be better to start next season with a new head coach."

Feyenoord parts ways with Robin van Persie

Feyenoord will start the 2026-2027 season with a new head coach. The club would like to thank Robin van Persie for everything he gave during his time as head coach. pic.twitter.com/P9UkuUGUnv

— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) June 7, 2026

During Van Persie's time in charge, it was reported that he had several run-ins with some of his players, most notably Quinten Timber, who has since joined Marseille. 

He also made the decision to bring in Raheem Sterling after leaving Chelsea by mutual consent in January, but he managed just one assist in eight games for the club. 

Feyenoord have not won the Eredivisie since 2022-23 under recently-departed Liverpool boss Arne Slot, and said a replacement would be announced in the coming weeks. 

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France conclude their preparations for the World Cup on Monday at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with Les Bleus hoping to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast. 

That loss ended a nine-game unbeaten run for France, and only on three occasions have they lost successive matches under Deschamps, which last came in September 2024. 

Both Dembele and Doue were unused substitutes in that match for France after they were involved in Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League triumph over Arsenal. 

However, Deschamps confirmed the pair would start if they are available, with the France boss aiming to get a better feel for who will be in his starting team at the World Cup. 

"Yes, but there are others here. He [Doue] is a very young player who has just celebrated his 21st birthday. He is decisive with his club, with us too," Deschamps told reporters. 

"He has the versatility, although I think he's more comfortable on one side.

"This ability to eliminate, dribble and make a difference, with a high volume of play, which is not always the case for an attacking player. It gives us an extra quality player.

"If they [Doue and Dembele] are available, they are ready to start, yes."

En Équipe pic.twitter.com/c3jd1ALGJ2

— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) June 7, 2026

Deschamps said after the defeat to Ivory Coast that the result could prove useful if it prevented his players from becoming complacent before the tournament begins. 

The likes of Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki were both given the chance to shine from the off, with the latter putting France ahead with a fine finish in the 45th minute. 

France made 10 changes in that match, with Maghnes Akliouche, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Manu Kone all getting minutes, though Deschamps revealed he would not be making as many substitutions for the visit of Michael O'Neill's side. 

"I have the possibility to make changes, as it's a preparation match," Deschamps added.

"But I'm not going to make five at half-time like in the last game, because the objectives are a little different. But I will make changes, obviously, to manage certain players."

France have played more games against Northern Ireland without ever losing than any other team, winning five of their eight previous matches (D3).

Northern Ireland have also only won one of their last 11 matches away from home in all competitions (D3 L7), while conceding 23 goals during that period (2.1 per game). 

But Deschamps was wary of the threat they possess, saying: "In this Ireland team, there are a lot of good players who play in England, with young players too.

"They have a lot of verticality in their game. It's obviously important for us to finish our preparation with a win.

"I thank Northern Ireland for accepting because between the teams who wanted to play in the United States or at home and those who didn't want to play against us."

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The defender has been a key fixture in Carlo Ancelotti's side since the Italian took over, but he suffered a muscle injury in their 2-1 friendly win over Egypt on Saturday.

Wesley was forced off in the 17th minute and left the stadium on crutches, having been seen crying on the bench after he was helped off the pitch by the medical team.

Ancelotti conceded after the game that Brazil were worried about the serious-looking injury, with further tests on Sunday confirming the Roma full-back will not be available for the World Cup.

"The CBF regrets the injury. Wesley is a beloved player within the group and will always be considered part of this team that is seeking its sixth world championship," the CBF said in a statement.

In a social media post, Wesley said: "Not every battle is won on the field.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by W43 (@wesleyfranca03_)

"I have to interrupt a dream because of an injury. It hurts not being able to wear the Brazilian national team shirt right now, but those who know my story know that giving up was never an option.

"I have come a long way. I've been through hardships, faced challenges, and had to overcome many obstacles just to get here. Nothing has been given to me. Every achievement is built with hard work, faith, sacrifice and a lot of resilience.

"So, I face this moment in the same way I faced everyone else: with my head held high, with trust in God, and the certainty that I will come back even stronger.

"The fall is part of the journey. Getting up has always been my greatest strength."

As such, Ancelotti has called up a midfielder as his replacement, with Ederson, who has reportedly agreed a deal to move to Manchester United, set to join the squad on Monday.

Ederson has previously made three appearances for Brazil, but none in 2026 so far, with his last cap coming in March 2025.

The Selecao begin their World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 13, with Haiti and Scotland also to follow in Group C.

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Deschamps announced in January that he would step down from his role after a glittering 14-year tenure, during which he has helped France dominate world football. 

The 57-year-old led Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018 while also finishing as runners-up at FIFA's flagship competition four years ago after losing to Argentina on penalties. 

France also won the Nations League in 2020-21, with Deschamps having won 114 of his 178 matches in charge across all competitions (D35 L29). 

The next stop on Deschamps' farewell tour is Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with France facing Northern Ireland on Monday before jetting off to North America for the World Cup. 

And while all the talk heading into the World Cup surrounds Deschamps, Dembele is confident that will not hinder his team's chances at trying to reclaim their world crown. 

"We know it's the last competition for the coach [Deschamps]," Dembele told ESPN on Saturday.

"He's at a very high level, who has a lot of results with the French team. We're very happy to have him, of course. We already played the World Cup with him.

"That's what we're essentially focused on. His leaving isn't really impacting our mentality in this tournament; we want to finish well with him by reaching the World Cup final.

"He's a coach who has counted on each of these players in the French team. He sends us congratulations or motivates us after a match.

"He's very important to me personally in my career. We'll try to do well with him as a coach because he deserves it."

En Équipe pic.twitter.com/c3jd1ALGJ2

— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) June 7, 2026

Deschamps' side are assigned a 13% chance of winning the World Cup by the Opta supercomputer, with only Spain (16.1%) bettered fancies in its pre-tournament simulations. 

France kicked off their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast, as Rayan Cherki saw his opener cancelled out by Guela Doue and Amad Diallo in the second half. 

Dembele did not feature in that match, given his involvement in Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League victory over Arsenal, and the Ballon d'Or holder said France were focused given the level of opposition at the World Cup. 

"There are many favourites. We know that Argentina are the reigning World Cup champions, so obviously they are one of the favourites for this competition," added Dembele.

"So is Spain, who won the Euro in 2024. England, Portugal, Germany. There are also very complicated teams, like Brazil, Ecuador, Portugal. It's a difficult team.

"There are favourites, but when the matches start, it's 11 against 11, there are no more favourites. I'll have to stay focused."

France's Group I campaign begins on June 16 against Senegal, with clashes against Iraq and Norway to follow. 

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