Nelson Semedo wary of Lamine Yamal’s quality ahead of Spain vs Portugal: ‘He’s a gem and could prove decisive’ | OneFootball

Portugal defender Nélson Semedo believes his side must be careful not to focus exclusively on Lamine Yamal when they face Spain in the World Cup Round of 16.

The heavyweight encounter is set to take place on Monday, pitting two of the pre-tournament favourites and all eyes will be on Lamine after his brilliant performance against Austria in the Round of 32.

Although the Barcelona winger has emerged as one of the tournament’s biggest stars, Semedo insists Spain’s strength lies in the quality of the entire team.

Semedo remembers Ansu Fati

Semedo left Barcelona in 2020 after spending three seasons at Camp Nou, meaning he never shared a dressing room with Lamine Yamal.

Speaking ahead of Monday’s knockout clash, the Fenerbahce full-back admitted that the youngster was barely on anyone’s radar during his time at the club.

All eyes on Lamine. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

“The truth is, I hadn’t heard anything about him,” Semedo said, as quoted by SPORT.

“He was too young, and we already had a young star who’d just joined the squad: Ansu Fati. Lamine was very young.”

Portugal must stop Spain, not just Lamine

While praising Lamine’s extraordinary ability, Semedo warned that concentrating solely on the Barcelona teenager would be a mistake.

“We have to stop Spain as a team,” said the Portuguese defender.

“Lamine is a gem and could prove decisive, but we’ve shown that we have the squad to compete against them.”

He added: “Lamine is a fantastic player and has enormous potential, but if we focus on Lamine we’ll run into a lot of problems. Spain have other players who can make the difference.”

The key for Spain. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)

Semedo concluded by stressing that Portugal’s preparation is centred on the collective challenge rather than any individual opponent.

“We’ll be keeping an eye on them all. We have to focus on ourselves and have a clear game plan,” he concluded.

Portugal and Spain meet with a place in the World Cup quarter-finals at stake, in what promises to be one of the standout ties of the knockout stage.

Lamine will be up against a strong opponent in PSG left-back Nuno Mendes, who is also looking forward to the challenge of facing the Barcelona gem.