Seville had barely settled into the rhythm of another international night when Lamine Yamal again made the argument with his left foot. Spain’s Barcelona winger struck twice and supplied an assist in a 4-1 Nations League victory over Croatia, adding fresh weight to the growing belief that the teenager belongs at the centre of October’s Ballon d’Or conversation in London.
Yamal had already attracted attention for presenting himself as a possible winner of football’s most prestigious individual prize. His response on the pitch was emphatic: two goals, one decisive pass and another display that left Spain’s supporters, fellow players and much of the wider football public admiring his influence.
The Ballon d’Or field remains crowded, with Rodri, Harry Kane, Fabián Ruiz and Kylian Mbappé among the prominent names in contention. Yet the performance against Croatia reinforced the view held by many in Spain that Yamal is not simply a candidate for the award, but currently the game’s outstanding individual talent.
A new claim for Spain
After the match, radio presenter Manu Carreño described Yamal as the world’s best player, regardless of who eventually collects the Ballon d’Or. “I honestly do not know who will win it — Rodri, Kane, Lamine, Fabián, Mbappé or anyone else — but I believe the best player in the world is Lamine Yamal,” he said.
Carreño placed the winger’s rise in the context of Spain’s modern international success. Spain, he noted, had previously possessed the leading team in world football during the great cycle spanning 2008, 2010 and 2012, when European and world titles followed one another. But, in his view, the country had never before been able to point so clearly to one player as football’s finest.
“We had the best team in the world,” he said, referring to those trophy-laden years. “But having the best footballer in the world is different. That player is called Lamine Yamal.”
For Barcelona and Spain alike, the momentum continues to gather around a winger whose performances are increasingly shaping matches as well as debates. The London ceremony is still to come, but Yamal left Seville having supplied a compelling reminder of why his name is impossible to ignore.
