Spain coach’s cautious praise for Lamine Yamal – ‘If sacrifice and effort aren’t combined with that talent…’ | OneFootball

Following two weeks of non-stop footballing action, European clubs will brace themselves for the first international break of the season.

Barcelona players will be quite busy during this period, especially given the sheer number of Barça players who are part of the Spanish team.

One of them will be Lamine Yamal, who will look to continue his stellar form with La Roja in the nation’s upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier games against Bulgaria and Turkey.

De la Fuente praises Yamal again

Heading into the international break, Spain national team coach Luis de la Fuente heaped praise on Yamal for the things he has achieved at the age of just 18.

“He’s earned it all. We have to value a kid who was already playing for the national team at 16. He’s under enormous media pressure; he has to work incredibly hard to keep up with the demands.

“He has to be an example both inside and outside of the team. He’s maturing, and we have to help him because he’s very young,” he said in an interview with FIFA (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

Does Lamine Yamal need to mature more? (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Yamal has received a lot of flak from the media due to his parties, celebrations and off-field activities. De la Fuente, though, was one of the first coaches to defend him by citing his talent and dedication in training.

However, the Spanish coach did admit there is room for more maturity for Yamal, even as he praised the youngster’s intelligence.

“He’s incredibly mature for an 18-year-old, but he needs to keep growing and maturing. It’s a natural process, and we’re here to help him. As a footballer, he’s brilliant, with natural talent and extraordinary talent,” he said.

During this international break, de la Fuente will have the difficult task of managing an awkward dressing situation between Barcelona players and Nico Williams, who was once again close to joining the Catalans this summer but didn’t.

De la Fuente, though, is not thinking about all that and maintains high praise for young Yamal.

“He knows perfectly well that if sacrifice and effort aren’t combined with that talent, he won’t be able to grow. He does. He works hard to improve every day. He’s very intelligent and grasps ideas quickly, like a genius,” he concluded.