After the controversy that followed him, the suspense is over: Lamine Yamal is now officially a player of the national team of Spain. The young Moroccan-Spanish player opted to play for the Spanish National Team, or La Roja, as indicated by the squad list shared by Luis de la Fuente, the Spain Men’s National Team coach, this Friday morning.
This list was intended for the next two matches of the Spanish selection: the first against Georgia September 8th and then against Cyprus on September 12th. If he plays, Yamal could potentially become the youngest player ever to represent Spain, breaking Gavi’s set in 2021.
Lamine Yamal quickly rose in his career to become one of the youngest ever players on Barcelona’s first team. Since then, international and football media outlets have been debating if he would commit to play for Spain or Morocco.
Walid Regragui, Morocco’s National Team Coach answered question about Lamine Yamal’s absence from his own squad list in a press conference on Thursday. Regragui stated that he and the Federation had entered in talks with the young player, and that he has sat with Yamal personally and explained “our project,” but Yamal had yet to give his final decision.
The coach added that it is a personal choice, and a difficult one for someone so young, especially considering how much external pressure he is facing. “I would not want to be in his shoes; he is still too young to make a decision… We would like him to play for us because it would enable us to have a future star on our team.”
Born in Esplugues de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain, to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, Lamine Yamal is a promising footballer who made his senior La Liga debut for Barcelona at the age of 15. Yamal is qualified to play for Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, and Spain. He already played for Spain’s U15, U16, U17, and U19 teams.