Spain faces France in the first World Cup semi-final tonight, Tuesday, July 14, Bastille Day, at 21:00 CEST, 20:00 BST, and most eyes will be set on Lamine Yamal, star of the national team who has been dealing with frequent criticism this World Cup because he has not scored the amount of goals as other "stars" in the tournament like Erling Haaland, Leo Messi, Harry Kane, or Kylian Mbappé.
"You say I'm not at my best, so you shouldn't expect anything from me... but I hope it will be a special game", the Barcelona player, who turned 19 on Monday, said, as reported by EFE, also talking about pressure. "There's no pressure. I play the way I know how, and I'll never play better or worse than I know how. I always give my all, and when you give your all, you don't feel pressure", describing this semi-final as the most important match he is going to play (at least so far).
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente also defends Lamine Yamal in every press conference, and trusts that his big game, the one that will shake critics off, is about to come: "Lamine's big day is yet to come and I hope it will be tomorrow, and if not in the final".
Lamine Yamal has scored one goal this World Cup, in a 4-0 rout against Saudi Arabia. After debuting in September 2023 at the age of 16, Yamal has scored seven goals with Spain, including one in UEFA Euro, where he also provided four assists. Do you think Lamine Yamal will score a goal or play a key role in tonight's match against France?