Spain faces Peru in final World Cup tune-up as injuries cloud De la Fuente's starting eleven

The last dress rehearsal

Spain will play Peru in the early hours of Tuesday morning (04:00 CEST) at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico. The match is the second and final friendly before Luis de la Fuente's side begins its World Cup campaign. The team arrived in Mexico from its base camp in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it has been training at the Baylor School complex.

Injuries cloud the attack

Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams will not travel to Puebla. Both are continuing their recovery from injuries and will watch the match on television, according to ABC. Yamal last played on 22 April and Williams has been out since 10 May. Víctor Muñoz is also sidelined. De la Fuente has said the two stars could be available for the Cape Verde match on 15 June, but starting them is "more complicated."

If there are no setbacks, they can be there on the 15th. To start, it's more complicated.

The lineup puzzle

De la Fuente has not resolved doubts in several positions. Marc Cucurella is expected to start at left-back, with Marcos Llorente ahead of Pedro Porro on the right. Pau Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte are the likely centre-back pairing. In midfield, Pedri is the undisputed leader, while Rodri and Zubimendi compete for the holding role. Dani Olmo, Gavi, Fabián Ruiz, and Mikel Merino are options further forward. Ferran Torres appears well-positioned to cover the injured wingers. Unai Simón is expected to start in goal after Joan García played against Iraq.

The Iraq draw and what comes next

Spain drew 1-1 with Iraq in A Coruña in a match featuring mostly non-regular players. The Peru friendly is expected to feature a more recognisable eleven. After this match, Spain will return to Chattanooga to finalise preparations for its Group H opener against Cape Verde in Atlanta on 15 June. The group also includes Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

The Baylor School base

Spain's headquarters for the group stage is the Baylor School in Chattanooga, a high-performance sports complex with three football fields. It is less than ten minutes from the team hotel, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Chattanooga Downtown. The city of 190,000 inhabitants sits on the Tennessee River and is known for outdoor activities and the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo train station.

Puebla embraces La Roja

The friendly has stirred excitement in Puebla. Fans gathered outside the Cuauhtémoc stadium wearing Spain shirts, many of them Barcelona and Real Madrid jerseys. Heavy rains threatened the pitch, which was covered with a large plastic sheet. El País spoke to Gabriel Martínez, who travelled three hours from Córdoba, Veracruz, with his son to attend their first national-team match.

It's my first official match, a European national team. They are a favourite to win the World Cup.

Peru, coached by Mano Menezes, did not qualify for the World Cup after finishing second-to-last in South American qualifying. They arrive after a 2-1 win over Haiti.