Lamine Yamal proved why he’s one of football’s rising stars with an excellent Euros debut for Spain against Croatia.
The three-time champions ran out 3-0 winners on Saturday in their opening match, one that saw their youngster make history.
Yamal was named in the Spain starting XI and became the youngest ever player to feature at the Euros, aged 16 years, 11 months and two days.
And despite it being just his ninth international appearance, he did not appear out of place and offered a helping hand in two goals.
The Barcelona star first contributed with flair and skill to pass to Pedri, who found Fabian Ruiz to score their second goal of the game.
Yamal then assisted Dani Carvajal on the stroke of half-time for their third, and former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew sung his praises.
Speaking on commentary for talkSPORT, he said “I actually thought, ‘Why is he putting it in there? Because we’re running the clock down, in a 2-0 lead.’
“But Yamal goes, ‘Hmm, I fancy myself,’ they give him a bit too much time, he whips in a great left-footed ball into that sort of pocket in the near post and the goalkeeper.”
“All year for Barcelona, he comes in on that left foot and you’re thinking, ‘He’s so left-footed,'” he added at half-time.
“But he does make the quality of pass and the decision-making process with that left foot, he’s so clinical. Although I don’t think he’s been brilliant, he’s created two goals.”
Yamal utilised his stunning pace out on the right for much of the match and Pardew further complimented him for such speed.
“The one thing you do know about Yamal is he has got lightning pace,” he later said.
“I haven’t seen pace quite like that in a forward player for a long while, he really is electric. If you give him room in behind you’re going to be in trouble.”
Yamal came so close to scoring during the second-half but was denied by a strong save from Dominik Livakovic.
It would have capped off an excellent evening for him but he can still take pride in his first major tournament outing, with Pardew saying: “A great performance, wow.”
So much so that Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand took to X and said: “YAMAL… 16 yenooooo! Not even had his GCSE results yet. Unreal.”
Despite a late scare in which Croatia missed a penalty and saw their following goal ruled out, Spain emerged on top at full-time.
It’s win that puts them firmly at the top of Group B, with Yamal playing a key role in their early tournament success.
News Summary:
- ‘Electric’ Lamine Yamal shines and makes history during ‘unreal’ Spain performance in Euro 2024 win against Croatia
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.