Rabat – Moroccan-Spanish international football player Lamine Yamal played his third game with the Spanish national team, barring him from the possibility of switching to playing for Morocco in the future.
The young talented player put on another brilliant performance in his third appearance with Spain’s national football team in their Thursday game against Cyprus, with Spanish media enthusiastically describing him as the super sub who changed the game for Spain.
Under FIFA regulations, a dual nationality player can choose to play with either country as long as they played two games or less with the other.
Aged only 16, Lamine Yamal joined the Spanish senior team this past October. Less than a year ago, Yamal was competing in the Under-17 European Championship.
In the course of six months, the talented FC Barcelona winger skipped three levels – Under-18, Under-19, and Under-2.
Last month, the 16-year-old footballer announced his decision to represent Spain’s national team.
Born to a Moroccan father, Yamal has long been on the radar of the Moroccan football federation. The federation’s interest intensified following the young player’s impressive performances with Barcelona at the start of this season.
Morocco’s head coach Walid Regragui had warned against exerting pressure on the young football player, saying that “the essential thing is that the player, as well as his father, are Moroccans. No need to put pressure on the player and his decisions.”
Regragui’s remark may have been a response to the intense Spanish media campaign to pressure the young player into joining Spain.
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