Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick accused Spain of “not taking care” of Lamine Yamal during the international break after the forward was ruled out of Sunday’s LaLiga match against Valencia.

Yamal, 18, featured in Spain’s World Cup qualifying wins against Bulgaria and Turkey last week despite managing pain in the groin area.

As a result, he will miss this weekend’s visit from Valencia and is also a doubt for Thursday’s opening game in the Champions League away at Premier League side Newcastle United.

“Lamine goes to the national team with pain, didn’t train, had painkillers to play, they were three goals ahead in every match, and he played 79 and 73 minutes,” Flick said in a news conference Saturday.

“Between the matches he didn’t train. This is not taking care of players. Spain have the best team in the world, in every position they are unbelievably good. I am really sad about this [situation].”

Yamal had started the season in fine form, scoring two goals and registering two assists for Barça in their opening three LaLiga games. He then contributed three more assists in his two Spain appearances.

Flick, who previously coached the Germany national team, said the communication with Spain boss Luis de la Fuente could be better.

“I never really spoke with [De la Fuente],” he added. “Maybe my Spanish is not good, his English is not good, so this is a problem.

“Normally, the communication, because we have more players there than just Lamine, could be better. I was also on this side as a national team coach, so I know how hard this job sometimes is, but the communication with the clubs was always good.”

Barça will also be without Frenkie de Jong against Valencia after the midfielder picked up an injury while with the Netherlands.

Gavi and Alejandro Balde are also still missing, but Barça have been boosted by the return of youngster Marc Bernal, who will be on the bench after over a year on the sidelines with an ACL injury.

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The match will be played at the 6,000 capacity Estadi Johan Cruyff next to Barça’s training ground as uncertainty continues to shroud when the team will be able to return to Spotify Camp Nou, which is currently being refurbished.

“I spoke with the players, the captains, and they say it will not affect us,” Flick said of having to play the game in a much smaller stadium.

“This is not an excuse. Also Valencia have to play in this stadium. We showed against Como [in preseason] we can win in this stadium and this is what I want to see on Sunday.

“We know the situation. The president [Joan Laporta] explained the whole situation to me. I have confidence in this [returning to Camp Nou]. These things don’t affect my team.”

It will also be the first fixture with Thiago Alcantara back on the sideline after the former Barça, Bayern Munich and Liverpool midfielder rejoined Flick’s coaching staff this week.

“I am really happy he’s back,” Flick said. “He has a lot of experience and he can pass it on to the players. I can see how the young players listen to him. It could be a really good piece of the puzzle for our success.”

Sri Lanka eased past Bangladesh with a dominant batting display to chase a 140-run target in the fifth match of the ongoing ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Chasing a modest 140-run target, Sri Lanka comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of four wickets and 32 balls to spare.

The defending champions of the T20 Asia Cup, however, had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they lost Kusal Mendis (three) in the second over with just 13 runs on the board.

Following the early setback, Kamil Mishara joined Nissanka in the middle, and the duo steered Sri Lanka in a touching distance by putting together 85 runs for the second wicket.

Nissanka, who was the core aggressor of the match-defining stand, eventually fell victim to Mahedi Hasan in the 11th over after top scoring with a 34-ball 50, studded with six fours and a six.

Sri Lanka then lost two more wickets in quick succession but Mishara stood his ground firm and steered them over the line with an unbeaten 46 off 32 deliveries, comprising four fours and two sixes.

Mahedi was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh, taking two wickets for just 29 runs in his four overs, while Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman could claim one apiece.

Earlier, Bangladesh managed to put up 139 for five in their allotted overs despite a shaky start, as their middle order salvaged the innings against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka’s decision to field first proved beneficial as Bangladesh could accumulate 139/5 in their allotted 20 overs.

The Tigers got off to a disastrous start to their innings as they lost both their openers, Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon, both duck and thus had been reduced to 2/0 in 1.4 overs.

Bangladesh lost another wicket inside the batting powerplay when Towhid Hridoy (eight) got run out in the fifth over while attempting to run a couple.

Following the early stutter, Bangladesh captain Litton Das attempted to launch a recovery with a sensible knock until falling victim to Wanindu Hasaranga in the 10th over. He scored 28 off 26 deliveries with the help of four boundaries.

With Bangladesh reeling at 53/5 in 9.5 overs, middle-order batter Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain registered a gutsy sixth-wicket partnership, adding 86 runs in 61 deliveries.

Shamim remained the top scorer for Sri Lanka with a 34-ball 42, laced with three fours and a six, closely followed by Jaker, who made 41 from as many deliveries with the help of two boundaries.

Hasaranga was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, taking two wickets for just 25 runs in his two overs, while Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan Thushara chipped in with one scalp apiece.

Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first against Bangladesh.

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (c), Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando and Nuwan Thushara.

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das (c & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman.