Spain absolutely lit up Croatia with a 4-1 hammering in the Nations League on Tuesday, and guess who was leading the charge? Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old phenom, went off for two goals and dished out an assist in their first home game since hoisting the World Cup trophy!
Yamal Is On Another Planet Right Now
This kid is something else, seriously. Yamal, who’s still just 19 years old, didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard against Slaven Bilic’s side in Andalusia, slamming one home in just 75 seconds! And get this: that’s not even his only lightning-fast opener; he scored within two minutes against England last Saturday at Wembley. What a machine! His second goal against Croatia came in the 63rd minute, where he beat his Barcelona teammate and Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic at the near post. That brought his international goal tally to a stunning 10 in just 35 appearances. Spain’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, couldn’t stop raving, saying, “We’ve enjoyed his magic in the service of the team. In the future, he’ll be much more recognised for what he does and for his contribution to the team’s play.” With Ballon d’Or voting now closed, you have to think this performance strengthens his case big time before the winner is announced on October 26.
World Cup Homecoming Was a Rager
It wasn’t just about Yamal’s brilliance, though. This was Spain’s big World Cup homecoming! Before kickoff at the packed Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, captain Rodri proudly showed off the World Cup trophy. He got it handed to him by Sevilla legend Jesus Navas, who knows a thing or two about winning, having won it with Spain back in 2010. Yamal himself was buzzing, saying, “We were very excited to bring the trophy here. To be able to win the game and bring it home is great.” The game had some wild swings too. After Yamal’s early strike, Dion Beljo equalized for Croatia with a header from an Ivan Perisic cross just before the half-hour mark. But Spain hit back immediately! Marc Pubill restored the lead just two minutes later, firing home a header from a pin-point Yamal cross. Fermin Lopez even hit the post just 45 seconds before the interval, keeping it from being an even bigger blowout at halftime. Nico Williams then notched up Spain’s fourth goal with a crisp dribble and finish with fewer than two minutes to play. Coach De la Fuente summed it up perfectly: “The first half could have ended 4,1 or 5,1, and the second half was more of the same.” Spain is now on an unreal 40-match unbeaten run, which even includes that World Cup final triumph over Argentina in the United States. They just keep winning!
Spain’s next test is on Saturday when they face the Czech Republic in Group A3. Can they keep this incredible unbeaten streak going and build on Yamal’s magic? You know we’ll be watching to see what this squad does next!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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