Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has claimed that Lamine Yamal is fully recovered from the hamstring injury that has limited his involvement at the 2026 World Cup so far, suggesting the young star can now play a whole match.Spain faces Austria in the round of 32 of the tournament in Los Angeles on Thursday, as both teams’ knockout campaigns begin.In three games at the World Cup to date, Yamal has been used carefully by manager De la Fuente with his recovery a concern. The 18-year-old superstar was left out of the starting lineup that faced Cabo Verde in the Group H opener, but was brought on off the bench in the second half as Spain struggled to break down its opposition in the 0–0 draw.With Spain facing questions about a lack of spark in attack, Yamal then started the 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia—where he scored the opener—and 1–0 victory against Uruguay, but was substituted in both encounters.Yamal Recovery Complete Lamine Yamal is Spain’s difference-maker | Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesNow, though, the winger is ready to do whatever is needed of him, according to De la Fuente.“Lamine can play whatever we ask him to play," the manager said at his pre-match press conference, via an interpreter when questioned on his star’s fitness. “We've been quite prudent with him, as we do in managing the recovery of all our players, respecting their timelines and also following the evolution of the matches. Lamine is doing very well now and, above all, you can all see how much he wants to play.”He added, smiling: “So we’ll see if he plays [against Austria].”Meanwhile, De la Fuente also revealed that new Liverpool signing Víctor Muñoz could be in contention for minutes, having missed the first three matches with a calf injury.“Víctor is in good shape, but he has not competed for a long time,” De la Fuente said. “Depending on the match, we will see if I can include him or not.”WIN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ FINAL TICKETS & OTHER PRIZESCompete against the world. | Sports IllustratedSpain’s Wing IssuesYéremy Pino added to Spain’s wing problems. | Luke Hales/Getty ImagesThe news of Yamal’s fitness will be music to the ears of Spain fans who have watched their team struggle to recreate the same attacking verve demonstrated during the 2024 Euros win.Pre-tournament injuries to both Yamal and Nico Williams—pivotal players two summers ago—forced changes to De la Fuente’s system during the group stage and Spain’s attacking output was notably limited against Cabo Verde before the two players were brought off the bench in the second half.Without pace and directness from out wide, Spain has, on occasion, looked one dimensional against opponents happy to defend deep, dominating possession but failing to penetrate easily.Adding to the issues, Muñoz—a natural replacement for either Williams or Yamal—arrived at the tournament nursing his own fitness issue, while the roster’s other winger, Yéremy Pino, suffered a nasty-looking shoulder injury in the win over Uruguay.Amazingly, De la Fuente has said that Pino could play a part against Austria after making a “miraculous” recovery, while Williams is now experiencing only “mild discomfort.”Spain’s World Cup Knockout CurseSpain has struggled at the World Cup since 2010. | James Williamson/AMA/Getty ImagesSpain may go into its round of 32 clash with Austria as the favorite but history weighs heavy on the European champion, which has not won a World Cup knockout match since claiming the trophy back in 2010.Since then Spain has only experienced a group stage defeat in 2014 and round-of-16 exits on penalties at the hands of Russia and Morocco in 2018 and 2022 respectively.La Roja has yet to show the best of itself in this tournament, but De la Fuente is ready to meet the expectation and put old ghosts to rest at the SoFi Stadium on Thursday.“We really like high expectations. We’re the first to demand more of ourselves. You have to adapt to your opponents. That sets you up for improvement. The team is already starting to recognize many of the automatic plays of the past, but we’re also very happy with what we’ve shown so far. Now there’s no room for error, we have to win,” he told reporters.Asked specifically about the prospect of a shootout, he added: “We practice everything. Today, yesterday ... We try to work on all possible scenarios based on our knowledge of the opponent. You might have a list of players ideal for taking penalties, but maybe they’re not available. We’ll see when that happens.”READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow