The World Cup dream keeps its fingers crossed for Lamine Yamal's temptations.

The Spain of the trilogy had many of its starters on the podium of the world's best in their position. Today's Spain already has some, for now, but one of them at the very top: Rodri , the Ballon d'Or winner that Messi and Cristiano denied the Spanish for years. The Argentine and the Portuguese are staying put because they can't live without the ball and have turned money into a pathology. Everything indicates they'll make it to the World Cup in Disney's land, where no character can be missing, but the impression is they'll appear on the field like El Cid posthumously tied to Babieca. This is a different time, a time in which Spain once again says things without needing to show off its style. After winning the Euros, it's a clear candidate to lift its second World Cup, whose path began in Sofia against a Bulgaria that has nothing to do with that iconoclastic team of Stoichkov , Penev , Sirakov and company, who smoked as much as they played, a lot. This Spain also has something the Johannesburg champions didn't have: a footballer like Lamine Yamal . He's watching the World Cup dream and crossing his fingers, hoping that temptations, along with injuries, don't turn that dream into a nightmare.

His teammates do the same, and he's become the national team's distinguishing feature. Seeking out Lamine is a constant, even against a weak Bulgarian side. The same is happening at Barcelona, ​​who, even in their worst game in a row, in Vallecas, found a way to score in their star player, even if it was with a penalty. That match prompted a warning from Hansi Flick , who spoke critically of egos. He didn't specify that he was referring to anyone, but Lamine's response, saying that egos weren't the problem in the defeat, shows that he took the hint. Bad business.

Luis de la Fuente also couldn't avoid questions about the Barça player before embarking on this path to the World Cup. After a hectic summer, with a controversial birthday, the signing of people with dwarfism, visits to Neymar , and love affairs stalked by paparazzi, there are concerns for the player's emotional balance. There were already concerns when he was a child, given his surroundings, so the Barça club decided to have him permanently based at La Masia, despite living in Mataró. He has been of legal age since last July, having reached this age after a visible growth spurt on the pitch. Such height requires the best possible balance. Let Rodri explain that to him, fingers crossed.