Sometimes magical dribbles, flashes of creative inspiration, just a bit of luck missing: Lamine Yamal, who can still do even better, delivered his best match in this World Cup during Spain’s win over Belgium (2-1) on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes magical dribbles, bursts of creative inspiration, just a bit of luck missing: Lamine Yamal, who can still do even better, put in his best performance in this World Cup during Spain’s win over Belgium (2-1) on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The match was mostly a long-distance duel between the Bar\u00e7a winger and Thibaut Courtois, who kept blocking his attempts and many other Spanish chances, until the Belgian keeper had to leave the field injured, hit in the left thigh (71st minute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, on a shot from Pau Cubarsi, his replacement Senne Lammens was guilty of a handball that the starter wouldn\u2019t have made, allowing substitute Mikel Merino, already Portugal\u2019s nemesis in the round of 16, to do it again (88th minute).And that’s how La Roja, the reigning European champions, paved their way to the semi-finals against France next Tuesday in Dallas. A match that must be tempting for Lamine Yamal, who has taken the habit of shining brilliantly against the Blues at this stage of major competitions: he scored a stunning goal at Euro 2024 (2-1) and added two more goals in the Nations League last year (5-4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind the first goal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the prodigy, who will turn 19 on Sunday, is still searching for his second goal in the competition, far from the crazy sprint led by Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 (8), he played a big part in his team’s qualification against the Belgians at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.Confirming his rising form observed in the previous round during the Round of 16 clash against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal (1-0), he was a constant threat to the Red Devils’ defense on his right side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was the one who sparked Spain’s opening goal with a perfectly timed through pass to Pedro Porro, whose cut-back was finished by Dani Olmo, leaving Thibaut Courtois with a futile save as Fabian Ruiz was able to score afterward (30th minute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before that brilliant pass, the FC Barcelona winger had already gotten into his groove with a few slick dribbles, like that nutmeg to shake off a defender sticking a little too closely (14th minute).Then, he had his first chance for a curled shot from his favorite spot at the edge of the box, but he couldn’t get it on target (20th minute). There were quite a few more, but Thibaut Courtois was alert, managing to read most of his attempts, like that well-placed free kick (34th minute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scorer in Clasicos<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most Spanish of the Belgians has the advantage of knowing the opposing phenomenon well, as several Clasicos have pitted them against each other in recent years. Last year, Yamal even scored in three of them\u2014once in the Supercup, and twice more in La Liga.When it wasn\u2019t Courtois getting in the way, it was the small goalpost giving Yamal a false sense of joy (40th minute), or a leg in shades of blue and pink like a Magritte painting stopping him from scoring (51st minute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point in the second half, almost every ball went through him, but neither that dipping cross (57th minute) nor this new curled shot (60th minute) found the net, again thanks to Courtois, who also saved the lowlands for his team in front of Mikel Oyarzabal, who was found in a tiny gap by\u2026 Yamal (62nd minute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the Belgian giant\u2019s tears, just as he headed back to his bench. And, deprived of his duelist, it was as if the Spanish striker lost a bit of his energy to fight on, while fatigue was also starting to weigh in.Fortunately for her, Spain’s strength also lies in its bench players, always sharp straight out of the drawer and cutting in the final moments\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Blues have been warned, they’ll have to keep a close eye on a Lamine Yamal who’s close to his best version and watch out for all the other Spaniards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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