Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has revealed some finer points about his star player’s psyche. Speaking ahead of the quarter-final against Belgium in the FIFA World Cup, De la Fuente shared his insight into FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
De la Fuente praised the young star’s motivation, but warned that it was a fine line for the forward to walk.
“If you see the motivation Lamine has, he is very dangerous for opponents, but we need to calm him down so that motivation doesn’t turn into anxiety.” he said.
The World Cup has been called the “World Cup of stars” as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland have banged in the goals for their respective countries. Yamal hasn’t joined the party yet, though he did score in his first start.
“The best is yet to come, because he hasn’t yet reached the level of brilliance we expect. The other day, he showed tremendous maturity, working hard in defense until he was completely exhausted,” the manager said.
Yamal was injured while playing for his club towards the end of the season, an injury that made him arrive at the World Cup without much sharpness. He couldn’t start the first game and is still settling in. Despite that, Spain have rolled on in the competition, in large part because they have yet to concede a single goal.
“We have always been a very solid defensive team, and at the same time, we are the side with the most shots on target in the tournament. We frequently get into the opposition’s box while conceding very few chances. That speaks to a very serious and well-organized team,” De la Fuente said.
