The roar that greeted Lamine Yamal’s face on the big screen in Atlanta was louder than any noise Spain had generated in their previous outing. He had not yet touched the ball, but already the atmosphere was transformed. Thousands of fans wore his name across their backs. He was the story before kick-off, and he would dominate conversation long after the final whistle.
The 18-year-old arrived hoping to start his first World Cup match, having been limited to just 19 minutes in Spain’s shock goalless draw with Cape Verde. Luis de la Fuente insisted that brief appearance was part of a longer-term plan, with Yamal carefully managing his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered in April. Fit enough to start against Saudi Arabia, his impact was immediate.
“Lamine Yamal scored his first World Cup goal as Spain thrashed Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Atlanta.”
Spain had promised greater intent, boldness and pace. They delivered a 4-0 thrashing, with Yamal at the centre of it all. The previous outing lacked urgency; this performance was vibrant, direct and full of conviction. Sharp, fearless and brimming with confidence, Yamal drifted past defenders with ease, injecting 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 his name. This was the superstar they had come to see.
“You can give a bit of advice but when you see a player like this with the confidence and freedom, he can create a lot of things that I couldn’t teach,” his former Spain team-mate Cesar Azpilicueta told Match of the Day. “When he is on the pitch he knows how to create chances, take on defenders and where to get the ball. From there, he is growing every single game.”
Guillem Balague, speaking on 5 Live, described seeing Yamal walk out looking around as if he had just conquered the world. “Is it arrogance? Or confidence? A mixture of both,” Balague 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.”
With that goal, 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 was a 17-year-old Pele for Brazil against Wales. For Spain, watching Yamal glide across the pitch, the sense that this could be his World Cup feels less like hype and more like destiny.