Lamine Yamal is confident of a big individual performance when Spain play Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals tomorrow.
The Barcelona winger missed the build-up to the tournament due to a hamstring injury sustained in April and has yet to hit top form, even though Luis de la Fuente’s men have looked collectively impressive in reaching the last eight.
Yamal, 18, accepts he has room for improvement and believes it will come when Spain play the Red Devils in Los Angeles.
He told Mundo Deportivo: “I think I can be better. I’m very demanding with myself. I’ve never said ‘okay, that’s enough’. Not when I’m at Barça and I have reached my goal, so not now neither.
“I had been sidelined for almost two months and it’s not the same as when you’ve played seven games in a row. Keep touching the ball, keep playing, keep adding minutes and, obviously, that game will come.”
Spain winger Yamal says he thrives when it matters most
Yamal says he is a player who rises to the occasion and relishes the biggest of stages.
He added: “Yes, I think so. Always, the important matches, the semi-finals or the final, the better the level. I have never been a player who is the best in the group stage. I’m calm about that. I know I have opportunities to prove it and I hope that against Belgium it will be a great match for the whole team.”
Spain reached this stage thanks to a 1-0 win over Iberian rivals Portugal, Mikel Merino scoring a late winner, and Yamal feels it was an important victory for their self-belief.
“It gives us a lot of confidence,” he said. “For me, Portugal was one of the three best teams in the World Cup and being able to eliminate them gives us a lot of confidence for the match against Belgium. But we know that each game is very different and that in a World Cup everything is equal.”
Messi has been incredible – Yamal
Yamal has many World Cups ahead of him while this will be the final one for the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Ronaldo and Neymar struggled to make a significant impact but Messi has had a phenomenal tournament and heads the list of top-scorers with eight goals in five games.
Yamal said: “Incredible. Everyone knows who Messi is, but no-one expected the high level he is giving. I’m very happy for him. I’m happy for Neymar and Cristiano. They have marked the childhood of all those who are playing now. Everything good that happens to them will be good for me. Of course, if I get to the final, I want to win it.”
