Lamin Yamal expressed his confidence in delivering a great individual performance when Spain takes on Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals tomorrow.
The Barcelona winger has missed preparations for the tournament due to a hamstring injury sustained in April and is yet to reach his best form, although Luis de la Fuente’s men looked collectively impressive in reaching the last eight.
Yamal, 18, accepts that he has room for improvement and believes that will come when Spain plays the Red Devils in Los Angeles.
He told Mundo Deportivo: “I think I can be better. I’m very demanding with myself. I never say ‘Okay, that’s enough’. Not when I’m at Barcelona and I’ve reached my goal, so not now either.”
“I’ve been out for about two months and it’s not like I’ve played seven games in a row. Keep touching the ball, keep making plays, keep adding minutes and obviously that game is going to come.”
Spanish winger Yamal says he thrives when it matters most
Yamal says he is a player who rises to the occasion and enjoys the biggest stages.
He added: “Yes, I think so. Always, the important matches, the semi-finals or the final, the better. I have never been the best player in the group stage. I am calm about that. I know I have chances to prove that and I hope it will be a great match for the whole team against Belgium.”
Spain have reached this stage thanks to a 1-0 win over Iberian rivals Portugal, with Mikel Merino scoring a late winner, and Yamal feels this was an important victory for their self-confidence.
“It gives us a lot of confidence,” he said. “For me, Portugal was one of the top three teams in the World Cup and being able to eliminate them gives us a lot of confidence for the match against Belgium. But we know that every match is completely different and everything is equal in the World Cup.”
Messi was amazing – Yamal
Yamal has many World Cups ahead of it, and this will be the final edition for the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Ronaldo and Neymar struggled to make a significant impact, but Messi had a great tournament and tops the scorers’ list with eight goals in five matches.
Yamal said: “Unbelievable. Everyone knows who Messi is, but no one expected the high level he is performing. I am very happy for him. I am happy for Neymar and Cristiano. They marked the childhood of everyone who plays now. Everything good that happens to them will be good for me. Of course, if I reach the final, I want to win it.”
