Former England worldwide Gary Lineker has heaped reward on Spain and Barcelona attacker Lamine Yamal, claiming not even the legendary Lionel Messi was as distinctive at his age. His feedback got here after Yamal delivered a Man of the Match efficiency to ship La Roja to the 2024 European Championship (EURO 2024) ultimate.
Lamine Yamal Has Been A Revelation In EURO 2024
La Masia graduate Yamal caught everybody’s consideration together with his performances for Barcelona within the 2023-24 season, scoring 5 targets and claiming eight assists in 37 La Liga matches. His sensational type for the Blaugrana earned him a spot in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad for EURO 2024, permitting him to turn into a beacon of brilliance for his nation as properly.
Yamal has featured in all six of Spain’s EURO 2024 video games this summer season, chipping in with a objective and three assists. Yamal scored his first EURO objective in Spain’s 2-1 win over France within the semi-finals. He picked up the ball round 30 yards away from the French objective, opened up a little bit of house, and located the top-left nook of the objective with a left-footed roller. With the objective, Yamal turned the youngest-ever goalscorer in a serious worldwide competitors.
Gary Lineker Claims Lamine Yamal Might Be The Subsequent Lionel Messi
Understandably, Yamal’s sensational performances have invited comparisons with La Masia hero Messi. On his The Relaxation is Soccer podcast, Lineker lauded Yamal’s path-breaking performances, claiming he might go on to be as nice as Messi, Pele, or Diego Maradona.
The Englishman commented:
“We don’t wish to get carried away however, boy oh boy, nobody’s ever completed these things. Even Messi was later.
“I’m not saying he’s going to be a Messi or Maradona, however he could possibly be. To do what he’s doing at this age, and he’s so calm. His decision-making and the objective, nobody’s ever completed that.”
He added:
“Pele scored two targets in a World Cup ultimate, he was 17, almost 18. This child’s 16, almost 17. You don’t wish to go too overboard, you’ve bought to watch out with these items.
“He’s [Yamal] one of the best 16-year-old I’ve ever seen. Rooney got here into issues [at 16] and scored an analogous form of objective [against Arsenal in 2002]. This was within the semi-final of the European Championship! I simply can’t get my head round his soccer intelligence and the actual fact he’s nonetheless in school. It’s mind-blowing but in addition stunning.”
Argentina icon Messi shone in his FIFA World Cup debut in 2006. Nevertheless, in contrast to Yamal for Spain, the then-18-year-old was not La Albiceleste’s key man within the match. He performed three of Argentina’s 5 video games, scoring as soon as and offering an help. Messi spent the opposite two video games on the bench and solely began one of many three video games he performed in.
