SeeEuro 2024: Lamine Yamal Breaks Pele’s International Record
By
OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Spain forward Lamine Yamal surpassed the record set by Brazil legend Pele in 1958 becoming the youngest player to ever feature in a FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship final on Sunday against England.
Yamal turned 17 on Saturday and the Barcelona player celebrated by assisting the first goal to help his nation beat England 2-1 as Spain won the Euros for a record-breaking fourth time, edging one clear of Germany.
He was awarded the Young Player of the Tournament.
It’s a dream and I can’t wait to get back to Spain and celebrate it,” Yamal told TVE. “It’s the best birthday present I could have received. Now I want to go and celebrate with my family.
“After they equalised, they pressed a lot. But I don’t know what this team is made of, but we always end up coming back.”
Yamal finished the tournament with one goal and four assists, the most assists at a single European Championship since records began in 1980.
He also became the first player to score or assist in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final of a single Euro.
Pele, who died in 2022, was 17 years and 249 days old when he played in the 1958 World Cup final for Brazil, scoring twice in a 5-2 win against Sweden.
It is the second time in a week Yamal has surpassed a mark set by Pele. In the midweek win over France, he became the youngest player to participate in the semifinal of a major national team tournament, earning him congratulations from the Pele Foundation, who manage the late striker’s legacy.
“The Pelé Foundation congratulates Lamine Yamal on this significant milestone in his career and wishes that this is the first step of a long and victorious journey,” they said.
He became the youngest player to ever play at the Euros in Spain’s opener against Croatia and then the youngest scorer in the finals when he netted in the semifinal win over France.
“We have seen a genius, the product of a genius,” Spain coach De la Fuente said in a news conference after that match.
Yamal has been at Barça since he was seven years old and made his first team debut last year while he was still 15.
Last season, at the age of 16, he made 50 appearances in all competitions for his club, scoring seven goals and assisting 10 more.
Spain broke the record for goals at a European Championship on Sunday in Berlin, as they beat England 2-1 to secure a record fourth title at the tournament.
Substitute Mikel Oyarzabal’s 86th-minute winner was also La Roja’s 15th goal of the tournament, beating the 14 scored by France on their way to winning the 1984 edition of the Euros.
Luis de la Fuente’s Spain dominated the tournament from start to finish, winning all seven games they played and, in the end, scoring the most goals to leave no doubt as to their credentials as Euro winners.
“I couldn’t be happier. To see the fans, to see the players. A real team, European champions,” de la Fuente said. “I said I was proud, and today I am even prouder. It confirms what we are. For me, they are the best in the world, and today I confirm that definition.”
After an extremely cautious first half in which Spain had more possession and their opponents got the only shot on target, it took only two minutes after the restart for the Spaniards to break the deadlock.
Teenager Lamine Yamal, who was named best young player of the tournament, found space down the right and delivered an assist for fellow winger Nico Williams to slot home. England, who fell behind for the fourth successive game in the tournament, levelled in the 73rd minute through substitute Cole Palmer.
Oyarzabal, however, denied England their first major international trophy in 58 years as Spain won their first Euro since 2012.
Spain assistant captain Rodri, who was subbed off at half-time with an apparent injury, was named player of the tournament.
