Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in Spain’s 3-1 win over the Czech Republic; his mere presence was enough for his national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, to speak candidly during the press conference.
“He never ceases to surprise us. He has so much talent, so much quality, and there is still so much of the best Lamine left for us to see”.
And he went further: he said Yamal “is growing by leaps and bounds”, that “he is already a key figure for our national team” and that he is on his way to becoming a legendary player.
All this at just 19 years old, with three consecutive matches scoring during this international break and four goals and an assist over that stretch.
As for the Ballon d’Or, he was more measured: if Yamal were the only Spaniard nominated, he would say that he is the best in the world; with so much competition among the Spaniards themselves, he prefers to say that he is one of the best.