Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
As Spain prepares for a heavyweight World Cup showdown against France, captain Rodri has a critical message for one of the nation’s brightest young talents: Lamine Yamal.
The 30-year-old midfielder believes that Yamal has been playing with a level of urgency that borders on anxiety, which has occasionally hindered his natural explosiveness on the wing.
Before the game against Portugal in the FIFA World Cup Quarter-Finals, Rodri continued to put pressure on the 18-year-old talent.
“We hope Lamine proves in the decisive matches that he’s among the best in the world, as he himself said,” Rodri said.
Yamal received criticism regarding his goalscoring output during this World Cup
Responding to criticism, he responded, saying “If we win the World Cup, I think nobody will remember how many goals I scored or how many I didn’t. If we win, we’ll all be happy; that’s all I want. I know that with my movement, I draw a lot of opponents away; I can create space for a teammate. Anything I can do to help, even if I don’t touch the ball in a play, will be a positive. I think everyone’s obsessed with scoring goals, and we won the European Championship with me scoring a single goal.”
Rodri’s remarks
“I think he needs to calm down a bit, that anxiety that sometimes he has to prove himself, he’s a very important player for us because of what he does with and without the ball, and he’s a very intelligent guy. It’s true that he’s 19 years old and that we have to calm him down at certain moments of the game.” Rodri stated on Yamal.
This statement sparked backlash among fans; one fan said:” Rodri (Ballon d’Or) who keeps putting pressure on the 18-year-old kid, well, he’s got no brain.”
Another one said:” Imagine you’re the Ballon d’Or, but you prefer to put all the pressure on an 18-year-old kid.”
However, hopes are high for the nation’s brightest young talent, Yamal, to present an amazing performance and help his team qualify for the World Cup final for the first time since 2010.
