Euro 2024: Lamine Yamal makes history for Spain against Croatia

An outrageously precocious expertise, Yamal will flip 17 on 13 July, the day earlier than the ultimate.

The earlier youngest participant on the Euros was Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski – 17 years and 246 days – in a 1-1 group-stage draw towards Spain in Seville in June 2021, however you get the sensation Yamal may break a couple of extra information within the coming days.

“He’ll do issues we can’t but think about,” says Ivan Carrasco, who skilled him at junior stage.

“I bear in mind him as a boy who was very conscious of his expertise. In sport, proficient folks are typically very egocentric, however not Yamal.

“I noticed a beneficiant baby who didn’t search recognition. As a coach you generally thought, ‘what can I educate him if he does issues that I can not even think about from the bench?’

“The nearer you might be to Lamine, the extra you realise that the label of ‘decisive’ falls brief. He’s a really, very particular footballer.”

Former Barcelona reporter and present Sport TV journalist Jaume Marcet remembers the day he knew he was watching a prodigy.

Marcet, who’s an knowledgeable of Barcelona grassroots soccer, stated: “Essentially the most brutal show I’ve seen in grassroots soccer was from Lamine within the ultimate of the Catalunya cadet match.

“I had seen Messi carry out brutally, however by no means one thing like what Lamine did that match, with youngsters older than him. That day he did every little thing.”