Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has hit back at critics after Barcelona prodigy Lamini Yamal left the Spanish team with a hamstring injury. De la Fuente was keen to stress that the team is not "kamikaze".

Yamal got injured with the Spanish national team, so Spain announced that they'd brought in Atlético Madrid midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme to replace him. Despite this, the Spanish coach was criticised for relying too heavily on teenagers, a strategy that had previously been employed with Gavi and Pedri. Spain coach De La Fuente responded to these claims.

Yamal has been on top form since the start of the year. The 17-year-old was a key figure in Spain's European Championship victory this summer. However, in Spain's recent Nations League match against Denmark, the young star suffered a hamstring injury and De La Fuente was criticised for overusing the youngster. However, the La Roja coach had a different take on it.

De La Fuente shared his thoughts with the media, saying: Ramini was a bit uncomfortable at the end of the match. I spoke to him and he said he didn't think he'd be 100% fit on Tuesday. If there are doubts, we always go with the athlete's fitness. It's just football. If it has to happen, it will happen. The message is always the same, which is why he decided to stay at home. He played because he had to play and there was no more debate.

"What saddens me most is that some people were fooled. Just to be clear: Last year we had 17 international games because we were lucky enough to reach the final of the European Cup, but this year we're going to have 10. In total, that's 27 in two years, or one a month. The issue is another one that we're already dealing with.

I didn't speak to anyone at Barca, even though I've always got on well with them. He was honest that he wasn't feeling well, and I appreciate him being mature enough to tell me that he wasn't at his best. "I appreciate that."