Lamine Yamal

Lamine Yamal is a Spanish winger who plays for FC Barcelona, where he came through the La Masia academy. Born in July 2007, he turned 17 during UEFA Euro 2024, playing a pivotal role in Spain's run to the title and scoring a stunning equaliser in the semi-final against France the day before his 17th birthday, one of the most celebrated goals in recent European Championship history. He was named the tournament's best young player.

Yamal has established himself as one of the most extraordinary teenage talents in world football, combining direct dribbling, speed and technical quality with the composure of a FAR more experienced player. At club level he became a first-team regular at Barcelona at an age when most academy players are still in youth football.

For the 2026 World Cup, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente retained Yamal in the final 26 named on 26 May despite a reported fitness concern, a decision that underlined both his importance to Spain's system and De la Fuente's confidence that the issue would resolve before the tournament . He scored in the 10th minute of Spain's 1-0 group-stage win over Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on 21 June, a result that put Spain on the brink of the round of 32 . Yamal remained a fixture through Spain's knockout run, including their 2-0 semi-final win over France in Arlington on 14 July that returned Spain to a World Cup final for the first time since their 2010 win . At 18 during the tournament, he was named alongside Pedro Porro as expected to play through knocks in Spain's final against Argentina at MetLife Stadium on 19 July .