Spanish Euro 2024 star Lamine Yamal looks every inch the ‘dream teenager’… but the biggest challenge is yet to come

The other day I was talking to my father about Lamine Yamal.

We were remembering my own journey and a really good goal I scored when I was 15.

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I was playing for Arsenal reserves at Barnet’s ground, Underhill, against West Ham. I cut in and curled it into the top corner.

That was almost the beginning of people recognizing me. It went on YouTube and Arsene Wenger was there.

But I said to my dad, “This kid, Yamal, is doing this in the semi-final of the European Championship.”

I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. Yes, we talked about Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004. But he was 18 years old and already developed. This kid just finished school!

The only possible comparison is Pelé, someone I never saw play, but who became a star as a teenager.

The greatest players in the world are those who not only know how to produce those game-changing moments, but also when to produce them.

Yamal seems to have this. The challenge for him – not now, because he’s in great shape and loving life – is: can he sustain it?

You need resilience. At the moment everyone is talking about him and loving him. But there will come a time when he will face adversity.

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He needs courage, of which he seems to have a lot. Every time he gets the ball, he is confident.

I’ve seen him go through bad times, but he still has the courage to get the ball.

And he needs a love for the game, which makes you constantly look for ways to improve.

There will be times when it will be difficult for him. But all stars, like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have gone through these moments. It’s about how he responds.

So far, he is managing the pressure and expectation that was placed on him from a young age.

I know a little about what that’s like. I made my debut at Arsenal when I was 16, played a few Cup games, joined the Premier League and then spent six months on loan at Bolton.

My breakthrough season was 2010-11 when I established myself in the first team. Then Arsenal were drawn against Barcelona in the round of 16 of the Champions League and the first leg was an important game for me.

Throughout my youth career and in the first team, I was good at adapting and adapting to a new level of competition. But this was different – and I felt it.

When Jack dominated Barcelona

In the tunnel, I was next to players like Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, midfielders I had followed for years and even during that season, trying to learn from them.

But the one who stood out was Messi. He had a real calm, an aura. You could feel the confidence coming off him.

I didn’t touch the ball in the first ten minutes. Neither did the rest of the Arsenal team.

But then there was a moment when I entered a challenge that I had no right to win, I got up with the ball and there were three players around me. I beat them and threw the ball wide.

I felt all the energy in the crowd increase. I fed off that and I think the team did too. We came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 and I was the man of the match.

After the game, Samir Nasri told me: “You’ve gone to another level now. Now you need to be consistent at that level.”

Rising through the ranks

Pep Guardiola was Barcelona’s coach at the time and he was asked about me after the game. He said I played well, but he had several players as good as me on his B team.

I laugh about it now, but at the time it irritated me. I took it personally and used it as motivation.

At the time I was a bit unusual for an English midfielder. I was a player who knew how to receive and use the ball, a bit like the Spanish player.

But I also had a bit of personality. I wanted to win and I would do whatever it took.

We have more players like that in England now. That’s a credit to the coaches at the academies and a credit to the first-team managers who trusted the players, like Arsene trusted me.

When we, as youth coaches, put young players into the first team, they are not finished. Head coaches are those who complete your development.

Kobbie Mainoo Comparison

England now have more players who are technically good, but also have character and leaders.

Kobbie Mainoo is the perfect example. How brave he is. How he understands the game. How we want the ball.

The starting point is to make them really good at football, so that they are confident in their abilities and really believe in what they do. So it’s about giving them the freedom and the opportunity to express themselves.

That’s what Mainoo and Yamal had. And here they are, two teenagers facing each other in the biggest game of their lives.

Jack about Rodri

WHEN I think about Rodri, I love what he does with the ball, how he holds the ball and breaks the lines, how he is always available when a player is under pressure.

But, as Declan Rice said, the flip side is that he’s a monster. Without possession of the ball, he moves around the field and wins duels.

People used to say about me that I had English ability and Spanish technique, while some Spanish players might not have that ability in tackling.

Rodri has it all. He can have possession of the ball, but he can also leave his foot in, be unpleasant, be horrible, win the ball.

Rice is a little younger than him and has very consistent performances.

They are at the top of the Premier League. One week Rice could be ahead, the next it could be Rodri.

Let’s hope it’s Rice who comes out on top on Sunday.

Jack in Bellingham

DID people really expect Jude Bellingham to dominate every game?
Some people probably did – and he certainly has the ability to do so.
But he’s still a 21-year-old kid and it wasn’t realistic for him to do that, game after game, after a long season.

He provided great moments, but we must also recognize that what he gives us is exceptional. He’s always running, always ready to block.

Can he do more? I think he can and, being the kind of person he is, he will know it. He will want more.

But he will be happy with your contribution.

Without him, England would not be here.

We were dead, we were out, we were on a plane home from that game against Slovakia.

A moment of magic came our way and he was the one who did it.

Jack on how to win

SPAIN will probably dominate the ball more than any team England have ever played against.

We have to be careful with our press because they are masters at finding a free player and playing through you.

I would love to see us press man for man and be aggressive. But we know Gareth Southgate probably won’t do that.

Are we going to press high or just commit a certain number of players to the press and ensure we are safe if and when they play through us? Or are we going to sit in a block and say: “Go, keep the ball”?

England need to find a way to suffer and still have moments of quality.

Can we still hurt them? Yes. Can we still have possession spells with this form? Yes.

We will have to be clinical, in addition to maintaining the same resilience and desire to win.

I see it’s very tight and England might be doing it.

England x Spain record

England have faced Spain 27 times in total – here’s a look at each result…

• May 1929, Spain 4-3 England – International Friendly (L)
• December 1931, England 7-1 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• July 1950, Spain 1-0 England – World Cup (L)
• May 1955, Spain 1-1 England – International Friendly (D)
• November 1955, England 4-1 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• May 1960, Spain 3-0 England – International Friendly (I)
• October 1960, England 4-2 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• December 1965, Spain 0-2 England – International Friendly (W)
• May 1967, England 2-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• April 1968, England 1-0 Spain – European Championship (W)
• May 1968, Spain 1-2 England – European Championship (W)
• March 1980, Spain 0-2 England – International Friendly (W)
• June 1980, England 2-1 Spain – European Championship (W)
• March 1981, England 1-2 Spain – International Friendly (L)
• July 1982, Spain 0-0 England – World Cup (D)
• February 1987, Spain 2-4 England – International Friendly (W)
• September 1992, Spain 1-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• June 1996, England 0(4)-(2)0 Spain – European Championship (W)
• February 2001, England 3-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• November 2004, Spain 1-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• February 2007, England 0-1 Spain – International Friendly (L)
• February 2009, Spain 2-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• November 2011, England 1-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• November 2015, Spain 2-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• November 2016, England 2-2 Spain – International Friendly (D)
• September 2018, England 1-2 Spain – League of Nations (L)
• October 2018, Spain 2-3 England – League of Nations (W)

Overall, England won 14, drew three and lost 10 matches against Spain.