Lamine Yamal played a key role in Spain's 4-1 victory over Croatia on Tuesday in the National League match. Yamal scored two goals and provided an assist.
In this game, which was the national team's first home match after winning the World Cup, Spain secured a confident win against Croatia. Yamal, who is 19 years old, joined goalscorers Marc Puigbill and Nico Williams, extending the team's unbeaten streak to 40 matches, including the final triumph in June against Argentina in the United States.
Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente told the channel Teledeporte that Yamal's contribution strengthens his chances of winning the 'Ballon d'Or,' as voting concluded on Monday and the winner will be announced on October 26. De la Fuente noted: 'We enjoyed his magic serving the team. In the future, he will be much more recognized for what he does and for his contribution to the team's play.'
Before the match, captain Rodri displayed the World Cup trophy at the packed Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium, which was presented by Seville legend Juan Pedro Navas, who won with Spain in 2010. Yamal shared his impressions: 'We were very happy to bring the trophy here. Being able to win a match and bring it home is great.'
In the starting attack lineup were Yamal, Alex Baena, and Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored in the exciting 3-2 victory over England on Saturday at Wembley. Croatia made six changes compared to the weekend game against Czechia, leaving key player Luka Modrić on the bench.
Yamal opened the scoring in less than two minutes against the 'Three Lions' and scored just 75 seconds into the match in Andalusia against Slaven Bilić's team. Shortly before halftime, the opponents equalized thanks to Dion Bello's goal from a cross by Ivan Perišić, who headed it in at 1.95m tall. Two minutes later, the hosts regained the lead when Puigbill headed the ball into the net following an accurate pass from Yamal.
Near halftime, the home team could not score a third goal because the ball hit the post, and Fermín López could not reach the lower corner. Yamal scored his second goal in the 63rd minute, beating a teammate from Barcelona and Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković near his near post. This second goal allowed the teenager to increase his international goal tally to 10 in 35 appearances.
Approximately two minutes before the end of the match, Williams from Athletic Bilbao scored the fourth goal for Spain after a clean dribble and finishing the attack. De la Fuente commented on the game: 'The first half could have ended 4-1 or 5-1, and the second half resembled the first. We played against a team that defends well and is strong in the air, so we need to be vigilant in every situation. But then we regained possession, our passing and control of the game.'