Is Spanish soccer star Lamine Yamal possibly missing the World Cup in the United States because of a Palestinian protest and visa issues? No, that's not true: There is no evidence supporting the claim that Yamal would miss the World Cup. As of June 7, 2026, he was already with the Spanish national team at its home base in Chattanooga, Tennessee, ahead of the competition's opening group stage.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by the @HodanHomes account on X on June 9, 2026. It read:
BREAKING: Spain football star Yamal may not be at start of Spain's World Cup match due to US Visa issues.
Natanyahu [sic: Netanyahu] has personally requested for Yamal not to be allowed into the US 🇺🇸 as he was seen holding Palestinian flag 🇵🇸 during a celebration.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @HodanHomes on X.)
The Chattanooga Times Free Press (archived here) reported on June 7, 2026, that Yamal was with the Spanish national team after it arrived in Tennessee. A photo from the publication shows him signing autographs on June 6, 2026:
(Image source: Chattanooga Times Free Press.)
Times Free Press reporter Patrick MacCoon also posted this video of Yamal practicing on X on June 6, 2026. It is embedded below:
El niño de Rocafonda in training in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
-- Patrick MacCoon (@PMacCoon) June 6, 2026
What a time to be alive and sight to witness Lamine Yamal in the 423.
Spain national team is the betting favorite to win the FIFA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/acuU8xHsx8
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo! News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports for "Yamal missing World Cup, visa, and Palestinian." If Yamal were missing the World Cup for those reasons, there would likely have been widespread news coverage.
In May 2026, Israel's defense minister criticized Yamal (archived here) for waving a Palestinian flag from a bus after Barcelona won Spain's La Liga title. There were no reports that it affected his entry into the United States for the tournament. Yamal was nonetheless already in the United States when the claim circulated.
