Nuno Mendes welcomes Lamine Yamal showdown ahead of Spain vs Portugal: ‘A player of great quality’ | OneFootball

Spain and Portugal will meet on Monday in the World Cup Round of 16, with one of the most anticipated individual battles set to take place between Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal and PSG defender Nuno Mendes.

The clash pits one of the world’s most exciting wingers against one of the game’s finest left-backs, adding another layer of intrigue to an already highly anticipated knockout tie.

Lamine hailed Mendes

Earlier this week, Lamine Yamal described the PSG defender as one of the best left-backs in world football and admitted that he enjoys facing him.

“Nuno Mendes is one of the best left-backs in the world,” the 18-year-old wonderkid said.

A duel to watch out for. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

“I like playing against him because it’s a real one-on-one battle. Those are the matches I enjoy the most,” he added.

Mendes returns the compliment

Speaking ahead of Monday’s encounter, Mendes responded with similar admiration for the 18-year-old.

“He’s a player of great quality,” Mendes said.

“We’ll be up against each other and it’ll be a good duel. I like playing against him – he’s young, has great quality and can make the difference. It’s always a good duel,” the Portuguese international added.

Portugal’s plan for Lamine and Spain

Mendes also spoke about how the Portuguese national team hopes to limit Lamine’s influence in the Round of 16 clash.

“It’s difficult to speak as if I were the opposition; I’m speaking for myself,” Mendes explained.

Nuno Mendes ready for the challenge. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

Continuing, he added: “It’ll be a very tough match against a tricky side who know how to play football and keep possession; team play will be much more important.

“If we manage to stop the ball reaching Lamine, that’ll be a very good start.”

With a place in the World Cup quarter-finals at stake, the contest between Lamine Yamal and Nuno Mendes is expected to be one of the defining matchups of the evening.

After all, Lamine has previously gone on record to state that the 24-year-old PSG and Portugal defender is one of the toughest players he has faced so far in his burgeoning career.

Source: Mundo Deportivo