Fabián Ruiz
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Fabián Ruiz: ‘It’s not important who plays, it’s important that we support each other’ | Sid Lowe
On the eve of their last-32 date with Austria, Spain’s unassuming midfielder on team spirit and finding his rhythm after injuryAt the Embassy Suites on Broad Street, downtown Chattanooga, the vans have pulled out for the last time. The day before departure, like every day, a small crowd of kids had climbed barriers and trees trying to get a glimpse of Spain’s players. A girl stood on a ladder and held a placard in each hand, raised above the fence. One said: “I’ve been here three weeks. I know you’ve seen me!” The other ran: “Please come out!” On Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee time, they did. They won’t be back.Spain are leaving their base behind and heading to Los Angeles and, if all goes well, from there to Dallas. They do so with more doubts than there were before the World Cup started. Well, Fabián Ruiz says, maybe on the outside: inside, at the training ground where the last session has just finished before they fly west, it’s a little different. Continue reading...
Family ties and focus: Lamine Yamal carries burden of Spain’s World Cup dream
The 18-year-old is leading a nation’s effort to win a second title – to the delight of his three-year-old brotherNo one celebrated Spain’s last-32 win quite like Keyne. As the third goal against Austria went in, cameras caught Lamine Yamal’s younger brother, still only three, raising his arms and shouting: “Come on!” And so a million memes were launched in Los Angeles.Not long after, 30 metres below ground – Los Angeles Stadium had to be built from beneath the surface because of its proximity to LAX airport – Lamine Yamal stood on a platform before a scrum of cameras, microphones and mobile phones. Someone in there showed him the footage, asked what he thought about this small boy enjoying the childhood he never could, and there was a pause. “I don’t know …” Lamine Yamal said eventually. “It makes me emotional to see my brother happy, and my mum. He is everything to me. It’s like he is my son and I’m in love with him.” Continue reading...
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⚽ All the latest news and reaction from the World Cup⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Knockout draw | Email usSpain looked ominous in beating Austria.The group stage is something you have to do but the World Cup starts here, Lamine Yamal had insisted, and down on the Pacific that was how it played out. It wasn’t just that Spain defeated Austria to reach the last 16 against Portugal or Croatia, their first victory at the knockout stage since they were champions in 2010; it was that on an enjoyable sunny afternoon they were Spain again. Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and another from Pedro Porro completed a 3-0 win that was as recognisably theirs as their coach had requested beforehand. “Almost perfect,” Luis de la Fuente called it afterwards.No wonder Newcastle United are working overtime to wrap up a deal for Johan Manzambi. The secret, if there was such a thing, is well and truly out when it comes to the 20-year-old Freiburg forward who destroyed the Algeria defence to tee up Breel Embolo for Switzerland’s opener in an ominously comfortable victory to reach the last 16. Continue reading...
Portugal snatch victory without Ronaldo, but more ...
Portugal's dramatic win over Croatia has allowed them to advance to the last 16 of the World Cup, but face an even bigger test when they take on Spain.