Lamine Yamal will start on the bench for Spain's opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Cape Verde on Monday, June 15, despite being declared fully fit ahead of the Group H clash.

The 18-year-old winger has recovered from the left hamstring injury he suffered in April, but Spain manager Luis de la Fuente confirmed that the teenager will be eased back into action to avoid any risk of aggravating the issue during the tournament.

Yamal is not the only player beginning the match among the substitutes. Nico Williams and Victor Munoz, who have also recently recovered from injuries, have been named on the bench and could feature later in the game if required.

Speaking ahead of the World Cup opener, De la Fuente said Yamal had successfully completed his recovery programme and passed all fitness tests, but the coaching staff opted for a cautious approach as Spain begin their campaign.

Spain enter the tournament as one of the favourites and will be looking to start with a victory against Cape Verde at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, United States.

Here are the confirmed starting lineups for the Group H encounter:

Spain: Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Gavi, Mikel Oyarzabal.

Cape Verde: Vozinha; Diney Borges, Roberto Lopes, Sidny Cabral, Steven Moreira; Kevin Pina, Jovane Cabral, Jamiro Monteiro, Laros Duarte; Dailon Livramento, Ryan Mendes.

The match kicks off at 12 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT), with Spain aiming to begin their World Cup journey on a winning note while Cape Verde seek to pull off an early upset.