Lamine Yamal: Another notch for the Ballon d'Or? One more

Lamine Yamal was the standout player in Spain's 4-1 win over Croatia at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, with two goals and an assist. The winger explained his first goal, a shot tucked inside Livakovic's near post: "I already know him from training, I was thinking about training, about what he does, and it went in" . The player opened the scoring in the opening minutes and made it 3-1 in the second half, on a night when the national team debuted their second star at home and stretched their unbeaten run to 40 matches.

The player also praised the atmosphere experienced in Seville and the team's objective looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup: "We are very excited to be able to bring the cup here and show it to the fans, and being able to win and bring it home would be great" . Asked whether his performance represented a new argument in his candidacy for the Ballon d'Or , Lamine Yamal replied without hesitating for a single second: "One more" .

In the mixed zone, Lamine Yamal insisted on the importance of the start, after a very early goal: "You always have to come out switched on, do what the coach tells us, what we talk about among ourselves, and I’m very happy with the victory" . The winger downplayed the debate about the Ballon d'Or, whose voting has already closed: "In the end, I’m not only playing for this Ballon d'Or, I play for myself, for the fans, for next season, for my national team, to keep winning" . Asked whether the performance brought him closer to the award, he shut it down: "I don’t know, I’m not the one who votes, nor do I know who has won, I don’t know anything. Just wait and keep playing" .

The footballer was especially satisfied with his form and his personal moment. "I already said before the Feyenoord match that this is the moment when I’m happiest and I’m enjoying it a lot" , said the player, who looked loose and smiling on the Sánchez-Pizjuán pitch on one of his best nights with the national team.