Sharp, fearless and brimming with confidence, Lamine Yamal drifted past defenders with ease and injected life into Spain’s attack. There was a sense of inevitability about what would follow.
When the breakthrough came, it was fittingly his.
A low cross flashed across goal and Yamal arrived at the back post, sliding in to convert and score his first World Cup goal.
The Atlanta stadium erupted as fans cheered, danced and chanted Lamine’s name. This was the superstar they had come to see.
Guillem Balague, speaking on 5 Live, said he saw Lamine Yamal walking out looking around like he had just conquered the world.
“Is it arrogance? Or confidence? A mixture of both,” he said. “He is the chosen one, he wants to be the chosen one.
“He is so happy in the role he is taking on as leader of the team. He told me once that his joy when he plays football is seeing the same reaction when he used to play five-a-side.’
Yamal became the seventh player in history to score at a World Cup before turning 19, and only the second aged 18 or younger to open the scoring in a match, the other being a 17-year-old Pele for Brazil against Wales in 1958.
Wayne Rooney was highly complementary of the teenager – the comparisons to Lionel Messi inevitable.
“For Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the application and dedication they’ve had is the reason they are both playing in this World Cup,” the former England forward told Match of the Day. “They have done everything right. Hopefully Yamal can do that.
“What is really impressive to me is when Messi came in to that Barcelona team, there was some top players and a crossover with Ronaldinho.
“[Yamal] has come in to the Barcelona and Spain team and it is his team, he is the main man.
“Everyone is looking to him to win. [He was] a big part of winning the Euros and will be a big part of this World Cup. That is what really impresses me, he is taking the pressure on at such a young age. You hope he can do that for the next 15, 20 years.”
