GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Spain will have a full squad available for its World Cup opener against Cape Verde on Monday with forward Víctor Muñoz returning to training a day after Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams also were back.
Spain was hit by injuries late last season and had to adjust its preparations in the run-up to soccer’s biggest tournament. Mikel Merino and Fabián Ruiz also dealt with injury setbacks before returning to the squad. One player who did not make it in time was Barcelona midfielder Fermín López, who has a fractured foot.
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Spain's Nico Williams works out during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Nico Williams works out during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Lamine Yamal works out during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Lamine Yamal gives autographs during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The biggest concern for Spain had been with Yamal, the young Barcelona winger who injured his left hamstring in a Spanish league game in April.
The 18-year-old Yamal is expected to lead the team as it tries to win its second World Cup title. Spain won soccer's greatest prize in South Africa in 2010, when Yamal was 2 years old.
Williams hurt his hamstring while playing for Athletic Bilbao in a league match in May. Both Williams and Yamal were out for the season with their clubs as they focused on recovering in time for the World Cup.
Muñoz, who returned to practice on Friday, sustained a muscle injury while playing with Osasuna in May.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente probably won’t use Muñoz, Yamal and Williams from the start against Cape Verde on Monday in Atlanta. They are more likely to be fully fit for Spain’s second game against Saudi Arabia on June 21, also in Atlanta. The team's final group match will be against South American powerhouse Uruguay on June 26 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Spain, which has been training in Tennessee, rebounded from a round of 16 elimination by Morocco at the 2022 World Cup by winning the 2024 European Championship in Germany. La Roja also won the 2023 Nations League, and was runner-up to Portugal in the 2025 Nations League.
Spain hasn’t gone further than the last 16 in the World Cup since its lone title in 2010.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Spain's Nico Williams works out during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Nico Williams works out during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Lamine Yamal works out during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Spain's Lamine Yamal gives autographs during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Kennedy Center was running out of options Friday evening to keep President Donald Trump's name on the facade of the iconic performing arts venue.
A judge earlier in the afternoon rejected a request to pause a court-ordered deadline of Friday to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the Kennedy Center's operations. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.
Scaffolding was erected around a section of the building that includes Trump's name but the Kennedy Center sought a short extension to complete the work. Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern Time on Saturday because of storms that had swept through the Washington area Friday, causing a delay. Some of the thunderstorms included lightning.
In the filing, the Kennedy Center offered assurance that the “removal work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the morning.”
Dozens of people spent hours on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of “take it down.” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member who sued to have Trump's name removed from the building, was spotted at one point on the plaza as well.
After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building.
In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.
The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.
“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”
Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial ruling.
A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.
Associated Press journalists Anna Johnson, Mark Sherman and Emily Wang in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Workers construct scaffolding at the sign for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Workers erect scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Workers construct scaffolding below the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Workers erect scaffolding in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A worker sits on scaffolding at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
