Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has urged Lamine Yamal to forget the birthday candles and embrace the stage, insisting the teenager’s biggest World Cup moment may still be ahead of him.
Yamal turned 19 on the eve of Spain’s semi-final clash with France in Dallas, and De la Fuente made it clear that the forward should feel the joy of the occasion rather than the pressure. The Spain boss, who has consistently backed a philosophy of calm and confidence, said the young star should simply enjoy himself and trust that his best moment at the tournament is still to come.
“I’ve told him there is no need to worry – let him enjoy himself. I’m sure Lamine’s great World Cup day is still to come. I hope it’s tomorrow and, if not, then in the final, if we can get there,” De la Fuente said.
Yamal has been easing into form after arriving at the tournament while managing a hamstring issue picked up after converting a penalty for Barcelona in late April. So far, he has scored once at the competition but is still waiting to provide an assist.
Spain now face a familiar but far more dangerous test against France. De la Fuente admitted the two sides know each other well after Spain’s thrilling 5-4 win in last year’s Nations League semi-finals, but he warned that this rematch will be a different battle altogether, especially after Spain nearly threw away a 5-1 lead in the final 15 minutes.
“We learn a lot from those matches, as they will have done,” he said. “We will try to repeat the scenarios where situations were favourable to us and not the others.”
The Spain coach described the match as a clash of “antagonistic styles” and stressed that his team must be alert to France’s lightning-fast transitions. He also acknowledged the challenge of containing Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, saying Spain had studied them thoroughly.
“We’ve analysed them very, very thoroughly. They have players of exceptional calibre, but so do we. The key is to impose our own characteristics and style, and to neutralise the opposition,” De la Fuente explained.
He brushed aside talk of Spain being favourites, dismissing the tag as meaningless pre-match noise. For him, the focus is simple: stay true to Spain’s identity, respect France’s strengths and give everything for a place in the final.
De la Fuente ended with a message built on belief, balance and enjoyment, reminding his players that moments like this do not come around often.
Will Lamine Yamal rise to the occasion and inspire Spain past France, or will Les Bleus spoil the teenager’s biggest night yet?
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