‘We’re not stupid’ – Barcelona star admits he didn’t give 100% in latest World Cup outing | OneFootball

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has revealed that he reserved energy in his most recent appearance on the international stage.

This of course comes after the 18-year-old marked his return to starting duties in the colours of Spain on Sunday.

After being forced to make do with a place on the bench from the off in La Roja’s World Cup opener against Cabo Verde, Lamine slotted back in on the right of his country’s frontline to face Saudi Arabia yesterday evening.

En route to an eventual 4-0 romp for Luis de la Fuente’s troops, the young winger opened the scoring courtesy of a back-post finish early on.

From here, though, he could be seen notably taking his foot off the gas.

Drawn on as much following the full-time whistle in Atlanta, Lamine in turn admitted that as much was pre-planned, with the attacker still working his way back to fitness following a spell on the sidelines through injury:

“If it had been a final, I would have been at 100%, but we’re NOT stupid. I wasn’t going to use 100% of my energy when we were 3–0 up in the 40th minute. We have to play with calmness and be smart about it.”

Conor Laird – GSFN