Lamine Yamal scored inside two minutes and produced a standout display as Spain beat England at Wembley, marking his return to the scoresheet for his country after a lengthy wait.
The Rocafonda winger had not scored for Spain since their second World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, but he needed only 120 seconds in London to make an immediate impact.
England attempted to build from the back when Marc Guehi received possession. Yamal pressed the defender, won the ball and then found the far corner with a low finish beyond James Trafford to put Spain 1-0 ahead.
The 19-year-old Barcelona player remained a constant threat for the rest of the match. His contribution extended beyond his attacking play, with Yamal also working hard to regain possession for Spain.
On one occasion, he won the ball back before Rodri produced a superb pass which Ferran Torres narrowly failed to turn into a second goal. Yamal later delighted the 90,000 spectators at Wembley with a backheel that almost released Dani Olmo.
His all-round performance earned him a Flashscore rating of 8.5.
Yamal said after the match that Spain manager’s demands for an aggressive press had played a key role in the opening goal.
“The manager puts a lot of pressure on us to press,” he told reporters in London. “I always say I want to help the team; sometimes I switch off, but sometimes I win the ball, find myself one-on-one and can score.”
The winger also explained how Spain approach matches when they do not have control of possession. Speaking to Teledeporte, he said the team were comfortable responding quickly once the ball was won back, even if they did not necessarily prefer to defend without it.
“It’s not that we feel comfortable, but we don’t mind the opposition having the ball,” Yamal said. “We’re quick, we don’t mind playing on the counterattack. You have to understand your role in each game and make the most of it.”
He acknowledged the difficulty of securing a result at Wembley, while stressing Spain’s determination not to be on the losing side.
“You can always lose, but we try not to be the ones who do,” he added. “It’s a very difficult stadium.”