After a disappointing 0-0 draw against Cabo Verde in their opening match, tournament favorites Spain are eager to stabilize their Group H campaign. Despite playing only 20 minutes off the bench and not managing to hit the target, 18-year-old winger Lamine Yamal remains confident about La Roja’s future. Prominent football insider Fabrizio Romano shared Yamal’s bold declaration on TVE, where the young star promised that Spain would demonstrate their true identity in their next match and confidently predicted that the team would stay united all the way to the final on July 19.
As the pressure builds ahead of Spain’s crucial match against Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, manager Luis de la Fuente has worked to downplay the surrounding media hype. According to a report by ESPN, he quickly dismissed comparisons between Yamal and legendary players like Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona, calling such parallels a “mistake.” While he acknowledged Yamal’s exceptional talent, the head coach emphasized the importance of allowing the teenager to develop at his own pace without facing undue pressure.
“He’s 18 and in a process of development and maturation… We have to let him follow his path,” De la Fuente stated during a press conference on Saturday. “These kinds of players, who possess something unique, are prepared for it. They’re geniuses, like Salvador Dali or Michelangelo. What seems exceptional to us is not necessarily so for them.”
Due to a muscular injury sustained in April, Yamal admitted that he is not yet fully conditioned for a demanding 90-minute game, leaving De la Fuente to determine whether the Barcelona prodigy will make his first World Cup start or come on as a late substitute.
Despite facing harsh criticism from the Spanish press after the draw, the manager insisted there is no “sense of panic” within the team’s highly unified locker room. Instead, De la Fuente noted that his squad is motivated by the recent backlash and eager to channel their frustration into a powerful performance against Saudi Arabia.
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