Lamine Yamal reinforced his case as Ballon d’Or favorite with a superb display during Victory for Spain by 4-1 over Croatia on Tuesday night.
The Barcelona winger scored twice and provided an assist as Spain got off to the perfect start to their new campaign, with the win extending their unbeaten run to 40 games.
Yamal opened the scoring in the opening minutes before adding Spain’s third goal after the break.
His first strike came after a move from Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez left him with an opening inside the penalty area, with Yamal opting to shoot at the near post and catching goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic off guard.
Yamal explained afterward that his familiarity with Croatia’s goalkeeper helped him decide where to place the goal.
“I already know him from training, I have thought about training, what he does and it has entered my mind,” said Yamal.
Yamal gives a strong answer to the Ballon d’Or
Yamal was asked if his performance had provided him with another argument to win the Ballon d’Or, and the winger responded with two words.
“Another one.”
Voting for this year’s award has now closed, meaning Yamal’s latest performance will not affect the result, but the 19-year-old insisted the individual prize does not drive his ambitions.
“In the end I don’t just play for this Ballon d’Or, I play for me, for the fans, for next season, for my team, to keep winning,” said Yamal.
“I don’t know, I don’t vote, I don’t know who won, I don’t know anything. We wait and keep playing.
“We’re really excited to be able to bring the cup here and show it to the fans and be able to win and take it home, great.
“We always have to leave plugged in, what the coach tells us, what we talk about and very happy for the victory,” said Yamal.
