Lamine Yamal has fired an early warning to France ahead of Spain’s World Cup semi-final, insisting Didier Deschamps’ side should be the ones feeling the pressure after La Roja booked their place in the last four with victory over Belgium.
Spain secured a 2-1 win to continue their impressive run under Luis de la Fuente and set up another heavyweight meeting with France. It will be the third time the two nations have met in a major knockout fixture in little over a year, with Spain winning both previous encounters.
Yamal believes those results give Spain every reason to approach the semi-final full of confidence.
“If anyone should be afraid it should be them because we knocked them out of the Euros,” the teenager told reporters after Friday’s victory.
“Obviously we are two great teams, among the best in the world. We’ll see what happens, but we have no fear.”
Spain once again underlined why they have been regarded as one of the strongest teams in the tournament. They dominated possession for long periods against Belgium, controlled the tempo and looked comfortable for much of the contest, even if the result was far from straightforward.
The Barcelona winger has scored only once during the tournament, but he believes team success is all that matters. He pointed to Spain’s European Championship triumph, where he also finished with just one goal.
“Honestly, it doesn’t frustrate me,” Yamal said.
“I won the European Championship scoring just one goal. If we win the World Cup, I don’t think anyone is going to tell me I only scored once. We’ve won, and that’s what matters. As long as we keep advancing, I’ll be very happy.”
Attention now turns to a mouth-watering showdown with France, a fixture many expected from the moment the tournament draw was confirmed.
