ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lamine Yamal sensed an opportunity, taking off toward Lucas Digne as the France defender was trying to clear a ball he had just headed awkwardly in his own penalty area.
Digne didn't even see Yamal coming when he raised a leg for a clearing kick. His foot crashed into the Spain forward's thigh, and the penalty call that followed put La Roja in position to take the lead for good.
Yamal has scored only one goal on Spain's run to the World Cup final, ensured by a 2-0 victory over France in the semifinals on Tuesday. Coach Luis de la Fuente tried to say there were other things besides scoring when he was asked about the teen sensation the day before the match, on the Barcelona star's 19th birthday.
At 19 and 1 day old, Yamal offered his coach an example in what has been his debut on soccer's biggest stage.
“This team interprets to perfection every play of the game,” de la Fuente said through a translator after Spain advanced to final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday against either defending champion Argentina or England.
Yamal's heady play led to the penalty kick, but Mikel Oyarzabal was the choice for that. His perfectly placed shot into the upper right corner in the 22nd minute was his team-leading fifth goal of the tournament.
Yamal, who didn't talk to reporters after the match, still doesn't have an assist to go with his only goal, but Spain wouldn't have had a halftime lead without him against a France team that many considered to be the favorite to win another World Cup title.
“Everyone has the same direction, the same idea, being aware of what is important,” Oyarzabal said in translated remarks. “In the end, you try to put what everyone has, what everyone can give to the team, to the service of the team.”
When de la Fuente said on the eve of the meeting with France that he thought Yamal's big day was coming, he was talking about scoring goals.
As young as he is, Yamal has the perspective to believe scoring isn't all that matters, even though he shared the Barcelona lead in goals with Spain teammate Ferrán Torres last season with 16.
“I think that in the end, I play as I am and I will never play better than I am or worse than I really am,” Yamal said in translated remarks on Monday. “So I only give what I have, always at the service of the team, always to the maximum. So when you give everything and you know that's what people ask you to do, you don’t feel pressure.”
Yamal applied the pressure in a key moment of the World Cup semifinals, and La Roja is moving on as a result.
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