Lamine Yamal was the story before kick-off and is dominating conversation long after the final whistle too.
The 18-year-old returned to Atlanta hoping to start his first World Cup match, having been limited to just 19 minutes in Spain’s shock goalless draw with Cape Verde.
Luis de la Fuente insisted that cameo was part of a longer-term plan, with Lamine Yamal still carefully managing his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered in April.
Fit enough to start against Saudi Arabia, his impact was immediate.
Even before his first touch, the impact he had on the atmosphere was remarkable.
Thousands of fans wore his name across their backs. Every time his face appeared on the big screen, the stadium roared.
Spain’s young star had not yet touched the ball, but already lifted the occasion.
When he did, he transformed the first half of the match.
Spain had promised greater intent, to play with boldness, pace and fearlessness. They delivered that in a 4-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia, with Lamine Yamal at the centre of it all. Where their previous outing lacked urgency, this performance was vibrant, direct and full of conviction.
“You can give a bit of advice but when you see a player like this with the confidence and freedom, he can create a lot of things that I couldn’t teach,” his former Spain team-mate Cesar Azpilicueta told Match of the Day.
“When he is on the pitch he knows how to create chances, take on defenders and where to get the ball. From there, he is growing every single game.”
Sharp, fearless and brimming with confidence, Lamine Yamal drifted past defenders with ease and injected life into Spain’s attack. There was a sense of inevitability about what would follow.
When the breakthrough came, it was fittingly his.
A low cross flashed across goal and Lamine Yamal arrived at the back post, sliding in to convert and score his first World Cup goal.
The Atlanta stadium erupted as fans cheered, danced and chanted Lamine Yamal’s name. This was the superstar they had come to see.
Guillem Balague, speaking on 5 Live, said he saw Lamine Yamal walking out looking around like he had just conquered the world.
“Is it arrogance? Or confidence? A mixture of both,” he said. “He is the chosen one, he wants to be the chosen one.
“He is so happy in the role he is taking on as leader of the team. He told me once that his joy when he plays football is seeing the same reaction when he used to play five-a-side.’
Lamine Yamal became the seventh player in history to score at a World Cup before turning 19, and only the second aged 18 or younger to open the scoring in a match, the other being a 17-year-old Pele for Brazil against Wales in 1958.
Wayne Rooney was highly complementary of the teenager – the comparisons to Lionel Messi inevitable.
Lamine Yamal has broken many of Messi’s records at Barcelonaand now he has pipped him on the global stage, too – the Argentine was just shy of his 19th birthday when he netted his first World Cup goal in 2006, the Spaniard has done it two weeks younger.
