Lamine Yamal not afraid of taking on France next

The France versus Spain FIFA World Cup semi-final in Dallas next week has the makings of an all-time classic, with Kylian Mbappe’s Les Bleus possibly enjoying a slight edge in the contest. However, teen sensation Lamine Yamal — in irresistible form during Spain's 2-1 win over Belgium in the quarter-final on Saturday, 11 July — showed typical maturity in cutting out the hype.

“There are two possibilities: either they (France) reach three World Cup finals in a row or we beat them three times. I don’t know what might happen, but we’re not afraid at all,’’ Yamal said after the quarter-final. The 18-year-old was a livewire in the Spanish attack against a physically superior Belgium, switching wings, taking on his challengers with elan and floating in some purposeful crosses for his La Rojas teammates.

‘’I’m really happy with the win. Back in the semi-finals again. That’s what we came here for — to play these matches and win them. Now it’s time to rest and start thinking about the match against France,’’ said Yamal, once again named Superior Player of the Match for his efforts.

Interestingly, Spain is that rare elite nation in this tournament without a single player among the top five Golden Boots contenders. While Mbappe leads the race with eight goals and three assists, Lionel Messi is second (eight goals, one assist), Erling Haaland (seven) third, Harry Kane (six) fourth and Ousmane Dembele (five) fifth.

Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain, not a number nine in the true sense of the term, languishes in 10th spot with four, while Yamal himself has just one goal to his name.

However, Yamal feels it’s team performance which counts in the end. ‘’Obviously I wanted to score because it helps the team, but I don’t go out onto the pitch thinking about that. If I win the World Cup, I don’t think anyone’s going to remember how many goals I’ve scored or missed. If we win, we’ll all be happy. If I win [player of the match award], all the better but above all, I want the team to win.

 ‘’I know that my runs draw in a lot of opponents and that I can leave a teammate unmarked. The important thing is that we’ve come here to win and anything I can do to help – even if I don’t touch the ball in a move – will be a good thing.

“I think the whole goal business has got into everyone’s heads and we won the European Championship with me scoring just one goal. I only scored one goal then, and I’ve already scored one this time. They can rest easy,” was his cheeky parting shot.