Luis de la Fuente identifies Messi and Ronaldo’s successors following their international retirements

Luis de la Fuente believes soccer already knows who will carry the torch after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Spain head coach pointed to Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal as the stars set to take over, now that both legends have left their national teams.

In an interview with EFE ahead of Spain’s final two Nations League group matches, against the Czech Republic and England, De la Fuente declared himself a “fervent admirer” of what Messi and Ronaldo have represented.

“They have been an example for the world of soccer. Players who had already won everything and still wanted to win. At 39 and 41, they were an example of performance, behavior, and sportsmanship,” he said. He also rejected the idea that Ronaldo’s farewell from Portugal, which followed his clash with coach Jorge Jesus, was a bittersweet one: “No, no way, God forbid”.

When it came to who will take over, the Spain coach was clear that soccer will not be short of stars. “In their time there was Pele, then Cruyff arrived, then Maradona, then Cristiano and Messi, and now other phenomena will soon appear because they’re already here,” he said, naming Mbappe and Yamal as players who “are going to mark an era in soccer, for sure”.

The Spain national team coach added that it is healthy for the sport not to depend on a single figure: “There need to be two or three players who are references and who create that spirit of joy, of following, and of what sport is a bit: rivalry, always healthy”.

For the first time in 23 years, a FIFA date will take place without either Messi or Ronaldo. The last one dates back to August 2003, and this time both Argentina and Portugal will take the field without their biggest stars, a sign that soccer is entering a new era.

Neither Mbappe nor Yamal will play on Thursday

The irony is that the two stars De la Fuente picked as the faces of the next era will both be absent when their countries take the field this Thursday. Mbappe is out of France’s Nations League match against Italy at San Siro because of a hamstring problem, which coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed on Wednesday.

L’Equipe reported that the issue is not believed to be serious, but Zidane made it clear that France will not take chances with their captain. The forward missed Wednesday’s training session to work with the medical staff, and Zidane called up PSG forward Senny Mayulu as his replacement.

Yamal, meanwhile, will not feature in Spain’s game against the Czech Republic in Prague. The Barcelona winger has been dealing with right knee inflammation since the Champions League match against Aston Villa on Nov. 3, which is why he remained in Barcelona and delayed his arrival at Spain’s training camp.

De la Fuente insisted the decision was precautionary: “He was probably willing to play, and if we had had an emergency, we would have decided to line him up. But it wasn’t worth taking any risk”.

Both absences come with a clear next step in mind. De la Fuente said Yamal’s discomfort is minor and expects him to join the squad on Thursday night or Friday morning, which would give him two training sessions before Spain face England on Sunday at the Metropolitano.

Mbappe, for his part, is expected to be given time to recover in order to be available for France’s final group game against Turkey that same day, although Zidane said only that “we’ll see” whether he is ready.