Defending Lamine Yamal In The Middle Of The Barcelona And The Spanish National Team's Feud Of Injury

Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen defended Lamine Yamal's decision to leave the Spanish National Team (Timnas) camp ahead of the international break.

Spain faces the last two matches of Group E of the 2026 World Cup Qualification against Georgia and Turkey on November 16 and 19, 2025 in the morning WIB.

Yamal actually joined the Spanish squad earlier last week but returned to Barcelona after undergoing procedures on Monday, November 10, 2025, local time, which required him to rest for up to 10 days.

This is the latest development in the ongoing injury fight between Spain and Barcelona, where Yamal has been trying to recover from a groin injury that has plagued him since September 2025.

"He had some problems and it's natural that he came home. I also left the camp last month when I felt a little sick," Huijsen told Marca.

Although the main focus was on the dispute between Spain and Barcelona - with La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente, angered by not being told that Yamal would undergo the procedure before - the 18-year-old's commitment to the Spanish national team was also in doubt.

"Lamine is a normal child. She is only 18 years old. Sometimes things are exaggerated by her."

"The same thing happened at Real Madrid with Vinicius, who is an amazing player and a good person, but they criticize him for the smallest things."

"If we deserve it, we can accept it, but it often crosses the line," said Huijsen.

De la Fuente also stressed that this situation had been badly handled by Barcelona, called for better communication and said Yamal did not know what procedures were needed or the consequences.

However, according to ESPN, the source at the Catalan club claims the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is always informed.

Barcelona team-mate Dani Olmo said Yamal's willingness to represent his country was unquestionable.

"Lamine always wants to be here with the national team. If she can't be here this time, that's because she's not 100 percent."

"His desire to be here has been questioned, but behind the scenes, you can see that it is completely contradictory," Olmo told Onda Cero.

The matter has been protracted since September 2025, when Barcelona coach Hansi Flick accused De la Fuente of failing to care for the young Spanish players after Yamal returned to his club with public problems.

Yamal then missed four games for Barcelona, returned to play for two games, and then missed three more games -- one for his club and two for Spain.

Since then, he has started six consecutive times for Barcelona, scored four goals and three assists, which earned him a call to the Spanish national team two weeks ago.

"It doesn't matter, everyone wants him to be 100 percent. Lamine is also used to the people talking about it," Olmo said of the ongoing dispute between Barcelona and RFEF.

Spain beat Georgia 4-0 on November 16, WIB, meaning they only needed a draw against Turkey in the final Group E match of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers to secure next year's tournament ticket.

Actually, even if they lose against Turkey, Spain is still safe at the top of Group E because they have a much better goal difference.

La Roja currently has 15 points with a goal difference of +19, while Turkey is in second place with 12 points and a goal difference of +5.