Luis de la Fuente believes the sport has already found the players who will carry the torch once Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are gone. With both legends now retired from international football, the Spain head coach pointed to Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal as the stars set to lead the next generation.
Speaking to EFE ahead of Spain’s final two Nations League group fixtures, against the Czech Republic and England, De la Fuente described himself as a “fervent admirer” of everything Messi and Ronaldo have come to represent.
“They have been an example for the world of football. Players who had already won everything yet still wanted to keep winning. At 39 and 41, they set a standard in performance, conduct, and sportsmanship,” he said. He also rejected any suggestion that Ronaldo’s departure from the Portugal setup, which followed his fallout with coach Jorge Jesus, had been a bittersweet one: “No, no way, God forbid.”
Asked who would inherit their mantle, the Spain coach was adamant that the game would not lack for talent. “In their day there was Pele, then Cruyff arrived, then Maradona, then Cristiano and Messi, and now new phenomena are emerging because they are already here,” he said, naming Mbappe and Yamal as players who “are going to mark an era in football, for sure.“
Kylian Mbappe #10 of France competes for the ball against Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain. (Getty Images)
De la Fuente added that it is good for the sport not to hinge on a single figure: “There need to be two or three players who serve as references and who create that sense of joy, of following, and of what sport is really about: rivalry, always healthy.”
For the first time in 23 years, a FIFA international window will pass without either Messi or Ronaldo. The last such occasion came in August 2003, and this time both Argentina and Portugal will take the field without their biggest names, a clear sign that football is turning a new page.
Neither Mbappe nor Yamal will play on Thursday
There is an irony in the fact that the two players De la Fuente chose to define the coming era will both be absent when their nations take the field this Thursday. Mbappe is set to miss France’s Nations League meeting with Italy at San Siro due to a hamstring issue, which coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed on Wednesday.
L’Equipe reported that the problem is not thought to be serious, but Zidane made clear that France will take no risks with their captain. The forward sat out Wednesday’s training session to be assessed by the medical staff, and Zidane called up Paris Saint-Germain’s Senny Mayulu as cover.
Yamal, meanwhile, will not feature in Spain’s trip to the Czech Republic in Prague. The Barcelona winger has been managing right knee inflammation since the Champions League fixture against Aston Villa on Nov. 3, which is why he stayed in Barcelona and delayed his arrival at the national team camp.
De la Fuente stressed that the decision was purely precautionary: “He was probably willing to play, and had there been an emergency we would have chosen to start him. But it wasn’t worth taking the risk.“
Both absences are being handled with a clear plan in mind. De la Fuente said Yamal’s discomfort is minor and expects him to link up with the squad on Thursday night or Friday morning, giving him two training sessions ahead of Spain’s meeting with England on Sunday at the Metropolitano.
Mbappe, for his part, is expected to be given time to recover so that he can feature in France’s final group game against Turkey on the same day, though Zidane would say only that “we’ll see” whether he will be ready.