Fabián Ruiz: ‘It’s not important who plays, it’s important that we support each other’ | Sid Lowe

A t the Embassy Suites on Broad Street, downtown Chattanooga, the vans have pulled out for the last time. The day before departure, like every day, a small crowd of kids had climbed barriers and trees trying to get a glimpse of Spain’s players. A girl stood on a ladder and held a placard in each hand, raised above the fence. One said: “I’ve been here three weeks. I know you’ve seen me!” The other ran: “Please come out!” On Wednesday afternoon, Tennessee time, they did. They won’t be back. Spain are leaving their base behind and heading to Los Angeles and, if all goes well, from there to Dallas. They do so with more doubts than there were before the World Cup started. Well, Fabián Ruiz says, maybe on the outside: inside, at the training ground where the last session has just finished before they fly west, it’s a little different. Fabián doesn’t use many words and isn’t really given time to do so, but one he comes back to is: natural . The debates? They’re for other people. Yet Fabián admits: “Sometimes things don’t go the way we would like; we’re working to ensure they do.” For Spain, the opening to the tournament was dominated by the fitness of Lamine Yamal, at 18 already an icon who eclipses all else – and who had been out since April. There was a sense that everyone was waiting for him and that it wasn’t until he was back that they could begin. …