Sharp, fearless and full of self-belief, Lamine Yamal glided past defenders and ignited Spain’s attack, making the breakthrough feel inevitable.
When it came, it was his moment. A driven ball skipped across the face of goal and Yamal arrived at the back post, sliding in to net his first World Cup strike.
The Atlanta crowd exploded, cheering, dancing and chanting his name. This was the star they had come to witness.
Guillem Balague told 5 Live he watched Yamal walk out as if he’d just conquered the world. Was it arrogance or confidence? A bit of both, he suggested. Yamal embraces the role of team leader, and once told him the joy of playing is seeing the same reactions he got in five-a-side.
Yamal is now the seventh player ever 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 first being a 17-year-old Pelé for Brazil against Wales in 1958.
Wayne Rooney was effusive about the teenager, with comparisons to Lionel Messi unavoidable. Yamal has already surpassed several of Messi’s records at Barcelona and has now edged him on the World Cup stage too—scoring his first World Cup goal roughly two weeks younger than Messi did in 2006.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Rooney praised the dedication that has kept Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the top and hoped Yamal could follow that path. When Messi broke through at Barcelona, he joined a team packed with stars, including Ronaldinho. Yamal has stepped into both Barcelona and Spain as a focal point in his own right. Everyone looks to him to deliver—he was pivotal in winning the Euros and could be just as important at this World Cup. What impresses Rooney most is how comfortably he shoulders that pressure at such a young age—and the hope is he can sustain it for the next 15 to 20 years.