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Rodri asks Yamal for composure
As Spain prepares for a heavyweight showdown against France, captain Rodri has highlighted a specific area of improvement for the country’s brightest young talents. The 30-year-old midfielder believes that Yamal has been playing with a level of urgency that borders on anxiety, which has sometimes hindered his natural explosiveness on the wing.
“I think he needs to calm down a little, that anxiety he sometimes has to prove his worth,” Rodri said in the mixed zone after Spain’s progression. “He is a very important player for us because of what he does with and without the ball, and he is a very intelligent guy. It is true that he is 19 years old and that we have to calm him down at certain moments of the game.”
Wonderkid’s shape under the microscope
Despite being the youngest European player to win 10 major tournament matches, Yamal has faced questions about his scoring production during this World Cup. The striker came into the tournament with a minor injury and has struggled to match the dazzling form he regularly displays for Barcelona in La Liga, often finding himself isolated from the opposition penalty area.
The teenager, however, has remained confident despite the lack of goals. In the face of critics, Yamal was defiant: “If we win the World Cup, I think no one will remember how many goals I scored or how many I didn’t score. If we win, we will all be happy. That’s all I want. I know that with my movements I scare away many opponents; I can create space for a teammate. Anything I can do to help, even if I don’t touch the ball in a play, will be positive. I think everyone is obsessed with scoring goals and we won the European Championship with a single goal of mine.”
Maturity beyond his years
Rodri was quick to point out that while Yamal still has tactical lessons to learn, his maturity has increased significantly since Spain’s triumph at Euro 2024. The midfielder noted that the 19-year-old is no longer a surprise, but rather a stable member of the team constantly looking to improve his game through feedback from the senior leadership group.
“I think he is a player who has already shown his maturity in the Euro Cup, and now that he is two years older, you are not so surprised by what he can do at his age. He is a very mature young man who still has room for improvement when it comes to reading the game, which is completely normal for his age, but we already know the level he is at. I am the one who always tells him to continue and not to stop playing if he is not fouled, but he is a young man who listens, who wants to learn and, above all, who sets an example. with his attitude,” added the City star.
Semifinal showdown with France
With a place in the World Cup final at stake, Yamal has rejected any suggestion of bullying. Recalling Spain’s recent success story against Les Bleus, the winger insisted that La Rioja has nothing to fear when they take to the pitch on Tuesday. He pointed out that the fact that Spain has won its last two games against Didier Deschamps’ team is a reason for supreme confidence.
Rodri, however, expects a much closer match than Spain’s 5-4 scoring victory in last year’s Nations League. “We can’t let that Nations League game, which ended 5-4 after going 5-1 up, distract us from the reality of where we are now: in a World Cup. World Cup games are a different beast; I don’t think they will be as open, and I don’t expect us to have as many opportunities. We will face a much stronger French team who will be difficult to beat, so I hope the game goes in a different direction,” the captain concluded.
