Barcelona, April 1 -- Spain coach Luis de la Fuente is enjoying the pressure of being one of the favourites to win the World Cup, he said on the eve of Tuesday's friendly with Egypt in Barcelona. He also praised local star Lamine Yamal while refusing to say if he would start Tuesday's game against the Africans, who also feature at the World Cup. Number one in the FIFA rankings, Spain beat Serbia 3-0 on Friday in the first of two friendlies scheduled for this March window. "I love it. We accept that challenge," De la Fuente said of the pressure of being favourites. "It's the same as what happens with other teams like France, England and Brazil," he said. Asked about Yamal, De la Fuente said he was magical and in "one of the best moments of his young career", but refused to be drawn as to whether or not the Barcelona star would start. "He's in a very sweet moment - fast, resilient, producing flashes of brilliance," said the coach. "I understand that Barca fans worry about him. My responsibility is to put out the best possible lineup, the best possible team." "He's a better footballer than he was two years ago, but not as good as he'll be in two years. His contribution grows every day. He draws attention, he has magic," De la Fuente said. Spain will play just one more friendly in Puebla, Mexico, against Peru on June 8 before their World Cup debut on the 15th against Cape Verde in Atlanta, United States. De la Fuente also mentioned some missing stars, with Nico Williams, Fabian Ruiz, and Mikel Merino - key members of their Euro 2024 championship winning team - all out injured. "I'm not being pessimistic, but there will be setbacks. We've had Merino's injury, Fabian's and Nico's," he said. "I believe Nico has already returned to training. Mikel does have a longer-term injury. I think both will make it, but we'll see how their recovery progresses, because Mikel's injury is less predictable," he said. Earlier this month, Iraq coach Graham Arnold was stranded in Fujairah, on the eastern coast of the UAE, due to the war. He wondered if his national team would even be able to compete for one last chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. After travelling a long and winding road to reach Mexico, Arnold and Iraq will seek to return to a World Cup after an absence of 40 years when they face Bolivia in the final of their intercontinental playoff in Monterrey on Tuesday. "It's been very difficult being stranded, I'd rather not talk about it, I try to remove all of that from the players' brains because a lot of things are going on in West Asia," Arnold said Monday in a media conference. "But players know what they're doing, they seem very relaxed and ready to go." Arnold was with his wife in a hotel in Fujairah after a series of Iranian missiles hit nearby when the war between the US and Iran began. The Australian coach was able to move to Dubai, but he was unable to join the team for several days. Iraqi players were also stranded because the country's airspace was closed, preventing the team from using commercial flights to leave the country. Team officials officially asked FIFA to postpone the playoff. "I came from Europe directly to Monterrey, but for the rest of the players who play in the Iraqi local league, they had a long trip, but we had a lot of time to recover from that," said Merchas Doski, who plays as a left back for Viktoria Plzen, in the Czech first league. "We are fully prepared." The team also faced visa complications because Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq and players struggled to obtain the necessary visas to enter the country. But the issue was resolved when the Mexican foreign affairs ministry facilitated visas at other regional embassies. The team finally arrived in Monterrey on March 21 after a 25-hour journey that included navigating travel restrictions and a stopover in Portugal. "It has been very tough 20 days for us, but it is an honor and a privilege to be here - I lived in Australia for a long time and I know that qualifying for a World Cup can change a nation," said Arnold, who guided the Socceroos to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. Since arriving in Mexico, the team has had plenty of time to adjust to the climate and players have practiced without incident. They have also been able to fraternize with children from local schools who have visited them during their training sessions. To qualify for their second World Cup, their first since Mexico in 1986, Iraq must defeat Bolivia, who eliminated Suriname 2-1 in the intercontinental playoff semifinals last week. "It has been fantastic, it is an absolute honour to get Iraq to his part of the playoffs after 40 years and with just one more game to go," Arnold said....