Despite only just turning 19, Lamine Yamal is putting the weight of 50million people on his shoulders.
The Spanish winger celebrated his birthday at the World Cup, the day before facing France in the semi-finals.
Spain haven’t been at their best in the tournament, and Lamine certainly hasn’t either with just one goal and zero assists to his name.
As such, everyone is betting on France, except for the Barcelona star.
Speaking after the group stage, Lamine was adamant that France weren’t tournament favourites.
Lamine dismisses France as favourites
He said: “No. I don’t think there’s any national team where you can say, ‘It’s impossible to beat them.’”
The interviewer then suggested France, and Lamine responded: “No.
“They didn’t beat us at the European Championship. So they can’t be better than us.”
When their form was put to the Barcelona starlet, he was just as definitive.
“That doesn’t matter, the group stage means nothing, look at Germany, for example,” he said.
“The World Cup starts now. The World Cup starts now. From this point on, it has nothing to do with the earlier matches.
“We could have drawn every game, and now we eliminate France – and that’s how it is. So I don’t think there’s any favourite.
“Obviously France comes in with very good form, playing at a high level, and they have excellent players.
“But I don’t think they’re above anyone else. Above anyone, really. For me, no team is above any other team.”
Lamine doubles down on Spain superiority
The evidence has stacked up against Lamine since with France continuing to fly and Spain continuing to underwhelm.
Yet his message stays the same and it could end up blowing up in his face.
Lamine pointed out that Spain have won their last two matches against France, saying their opponents should be more scared of them.
The words reached the France camp, and Ibrahima Konate and Didier Deschamps have been keen to pile the pressure on the youngster.
Konate responded: “He can say whatever he wants… no, no, we’re not afraid, we shouldn’t be afraid of anyone, but rather remain humble and not fall into that trap, especially at this stage of the competition.”
Didier Deschamps went even further, insisting Spain are the favourites.
He added: “They’re the current European champions.
“We played them last summer in the Nations League semi-final, so… We were considered favorites before this World Cup, but Spain is the favourite.
“That puts more pressure on them because of everything they’ve done. Even though they lost the final against Portugal, they’re a very good team with many strengths.
“It’s the first semi-final of the World Cup, so the level will be very high.”
Should Spain beat France, he’s already caused issues for a potential finalist by saying this match is the ‘final before the final’.
Lionel Sclaoni has responded, and Lamine is quickly becoming the talk of every single press conference.
All of this without much of an attacking output suggests it must be planned by the Barca star.
Lamine takes defensive responsibility and media responsibility, allowing his teammates to shine.
It’s a bold ploy, but for a player who famously told his rivals ‘speak now!’ it can only be a calculated one.
And what does such pressure mean?
“I play the way I know how,” he responded before the showdown.
“I play with everything I’ve got, and when you do that, I don’t feel any pressure.”
Leave a Reply