'Genuis' Lamine Yamal urged to show 'humility' by Spain coach Luis de la Fuente
Lamine Yamal was lavished with praise by Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente after his Euro 2024 wondergoal on Tuesday, but also received a word of warning after appearing to taunt France rival Adrien Rabiot.
Yamal’s brilliant strike made him the youngest scorer in the history of the European Championships — he does not turn 17 until Saturday, the day before Spain takes on either England or the Netherlands in the final in Berlin.
"We saw a touch of genius from a footballer, we all know who he is," de la Fuente told reporters, after his team prevailed, 2-1, in Munich.
However, de la Fuente also urged Yamal not to let his exuberance get the better of him, after he was spotted shouting "speak now, speak now," into a nearby television camera at the end of the match.
That was taken as a clear reference to France midfielder Rabiot, who had spoken about Yamal in the buildup to the game.
"We need to take care of him," de le Fuente added. "And I, from here, want to give him some advice, the same way that I do in private. I would like him to work with the same humility and keep his feet on the ground."
Yamal gave Rabiot a front-row seat to his superb goal, twisting one way in front of him, then the other, before unleashing a left-foot beauty.
"To play in a Euro final, he will have to do much more than what he has done so far," Rabiot had said on Monday.
Luis de la Fuente recaps Spain's gritty 2-1 victory over France | UEFA Euro 2024
Yamal already seemed to respond on the morning of the match, with a social media post that read: "Move in silence, only talk when it is time to say checkmate."
This felt like checkmate, and it was, Dani Olmo’s goal minutes later proving to be the clincher.
De la Fuente’s message about humility had clearly gotten through by the time Yamal held his own press conference minutes later, and the youngster refused to reignite the Rabiot controversy.
"At the end we don’t need to think twice about these things," Yamal said. "I just wanted to try to help my teammates equalize and get a second goal, so that’s that.
"The person that I am talking about, this person will know who this person is, and I am just really happy about reaching the final and really happy about my team."
Spain has now won six straight since the start of the event and will go into Sunday’s showdown as a strong favorite, whoever comes through the second semi in Dortmund on Wednesday.
The 2008 and 2012 champion has already survived what considered to be by far the tougher half of the draw, beating Germany and now World Cup finalist France.
Adding Yamal’s fearless brand of skill and ingenuity to a rock-solid roster almost feels unfair.
"I don’t know if this was the best goal in the tournament but it is the most special for me," Yamal added. "Getting to the final with the national team in the Euro is something super special for me.
"I don’t know if I am the icon or not, it doesn’t really help anything on the pitch. I need to help my team, that’s what I try to do and what I tried to do today."
Lamine Yamal becomes the YOUNGEST player to score in Euros history with a STUNNING strike vs. France
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
