Why Spain and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is wearing special patch on shirt at 2026 World Cup in North America

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Spain's Lamine Yamal and Norway's Erling Haaland will both be wearing special patches on their shirts for their first games at the 2026 World Cup in North America.

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The 18-year-old Yamal starred at his last major competition, being named Young Player of the Tournament as Spain won Euro 2024.

Now the Barcelona and Spain winger will be looking to make his mark on his World Cup debut.

There were concerns about Yamal's fitness ahead of the World Cup due to a hamstring injury that saw him miss the end of the season with Barcelona.

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But Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said Yamal was in ”perfect condition” ahead of the opening game against Cabo Verde and named him on the bench.

"He's arrived at this point in the state in which we wanted him to be. He's fine," said De La Fuente.

If Yamal does make an appearance then fans might notice his shirt will not be exactly the same as those worn by his team-mates.

Yamal’s shirt will feature a patch to mark the occasion of his World Cup debut.

Every player making their debut at the World Cup this summer will wear the patch for their first game at the tournament.

That includes Norway’s Haaland, France’s Michael Olise, and all the players in the Scotland squad.

There will also be 18 members of the England squad who could be wearing the patch for the first game against Croatia on Wednesday, June 17.

The patch is worn on the right sleeve below the World Cup badge.

Once a player has made his debut, the patch, which says ‘debut’ on it, will be transformed into a collectable trading card and made available at a later date.

John McGinn's debut patch

Image credit: Getty Images

The innovation follows the news that Fanatics will be replacing Panini as FIFA’s partner for trading cards and stickers from 2031.

As reported by the BBC, Collectable patches were introduced to the MLS in 2024 and have been used in other North American sports.

As well as the debut patches, there are also legacy patches at the World Cup.

This patch is awarded to players who have played at five or more World Cups.

They include Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Yuto Nagatomo, and Manuel Neuer.

The World Cup legacy patch

Image credit: Getty Images

Ronaldo and Messi are both competing at their sixth World Cup.

Messi’s Argentina are defending champions and start their campaign against Algeria in the early hours of Wednesday morning UK time.

Portugal face DR Congo in their first game at the tournament on Wednesday.

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