Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has told ESPN an “improved” Lamine Yamal is ready to deliver as La Roja gear up for Friday’s World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium in Los Angeles.
Yamal, 18, recovered from a hamstring injury to make the finals but has not hit top gear yet at the tournament.
However, De la Fuente has said the Barcelona forward will be back to his best as the European champions target a semifinal against either France or Morocco.
“It’s another, improved [version of] Lamine,” De la Fuente told ESPN of Yamal’s evolution.
“As the youngsters would say, we are seeing version two-point-something.
“But we have to keep in mind he’s coming off the back of an injury. Now, heading into a crucial week, he’s ready to perform at his best and is motivationally prepared.”
Yamal made his first appearance since April as a substitute in Spain’s opening game against Cape Verde before scoring in the next game, a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
He has started every game since and, despite not scoring again, De la Fuente points out how important he has been creating space and opportunities for his teammates.
“Lamine is a player that needs contact with the ball,” the Spain boss added. “He has that ability to beat one, two or three opponents because he’s capable of that.
“But it’s [also] very simple — pure mathematics. If you’re able to attract the attention of several opposition players, it means other [players] or areas of the pitch are left unprotected.
“We have to move the ball around quickly so that other players can benefit from that.”
After leading Spain to the European Championships in Germany two years ago, Yamal was expected to be one of the stars of the World Cup in North America.
With Spain still among the contenders, he could yet be, but he has so far been overshadowed by a player at the other end of his career in Lionel Messi.
The Inter Miami forward has netted eight goals in Argentina‘s run to the quarterfinal and De la Fuente believes he is as good as he has ever been aged 39.
“He’s incredible,” he said. “He is a player that comes along very few times in life. We’re probably witnessing the best Messi.
“People were thinking he’s on the wane, but he’s shown that we still have Messi for a while yet. I bow down to his brilliance, his talent and his class.
“Being able to maintain that motivation, that desire at that age. I said it the other day with Cristiano [Ronaldo] as well: they are an example to young people, society and to sport.”
Messi and Ronaldo’s sustained excellence over two decades has set the bar extremely high for the next generation of coming through, including Yamal, who has been compared with the duo.
– Spain vs. Belgium at World Cup 2026: TV channel, how to watch in UK, kick-off time, live stream, referee, line-ups
– Lamine Yamal: ‘Incredible’ to see Lionel Messi still starring at World Cup
– World Cup quarterfinals: How we got here, predictions, odds
“Lamine has got talent and raw potential; he needs to polish it,” De la Fuente said.
“And in that process, he needs to have the right attitude, keep working as he does, cope with the media pressure, understand that football has its ups and downs and overcome injuries.
“He needs to do all of that whilst using his talent to reach those heights. He needs to be patient because he’s very young.”
