Ahead of the European Championships which began last month, Spain’s Lamine Yamal promised his teachers that he would keep up with his homework in Germany.
In fact, it’s been reported that during the tournament, the 16-year-old was informed he had passed his school exams and can now pursue the Spanish Baccalaureate – if of course he chooses to go to university.
After Yamal made history by becoming the youngest player to score at the European Championships as Spain edged past France 2-1 to reach Sunday’s Euro 2024 final, it’s a safe bet the teenager will put his tertiary studies on hold.
After all, he’s already shown the world that he has a bachelor’s degree in producing the spectacular on the pitch, as evinced by his goal in the semi-finals.
Cutting back onto his left foot 25 metres from goal, Yamal bent a stunning effort off the post and in.
Yamal, who picked up the man of the match award for his performance, celebrates his 17th birthday the day before the final against England on Sunday. His “goal”, he said, was to simply be in Germany for the occasion.
As highlighted by The Guardian, Spain’s and Yamal’s triumph is not just for his own prodigious talent but for the system that “produces him, nurtures him, throws him into a major championship semi-final and trusts him to thrash in a 25-metre thunderbolt”.
The wonder goal aside, Yamal has racked up four goal involvements in the campaign, making a strong case for being named Player of the Tournament if Spain are to win Euro 2024.
It’s difficult to comprehend how someone so young could possess the confidence and self-belief to carry himself so eloquently alongside and against the best players in the world – let alone produce the match winner on the biggest stage.
His surname is Nasaraoui Ebana and not Yamal, which is actually his middle name. With a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea, Yamal was born in Esplugues in Spain. Crucially, he now resides in Sant Joan Despí, at the famed La Masia football academy of FC Barcelona – Yamal’s club.
Naturally, the comparisons with former Barca legend Lionel Messi were inevitable as soon as scouts and coaches caught the youngster in his debut for the Catalan club in April 2023.
Photos of Messi and Yamal, taken in 2007, drew attention after it was posted on Instagram by Yamal’s father last week, with one of them captioned: “The beginning of two legends.”
The photos were taken during a photoshoot in the visitors’ locker room at Barcelona’s Camp Nou in the autumn of that year.
Photographer Joan Monfort, who was in charge of the shoot, said Barcelona’s players at the time posed with children and their families for a calendar as part of an annual charity drive by local newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF.
As serendipity would have it, Yamal was paired with a then 20-year-old Messi that day.
Recently, just after England ousted the Dutch in their semi-final on Thursday morning, comparisons have been drawn of Yamal with England’s own 19-year-old prodigy, Kobbie Mainoo.
Mainoo has had a solid campaign at the base of England’s midfield, carrying on from his terrific season with Manchester United. So the juxtaposition is justifiable, even if he doesn’t fill the statsheet the same way Yamal does.
England, who will face Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday will be – nay, must be – wary of the braces-wearing Spanish golden boy.
An intriguing battle of the teenagers awaits us.
