Spain winger Lamine Yamal says the FIFA World Cup remains his sole focus, downplaying any worries about his relatively low goal return as La Roja prepare for the next stage after reaching the semi-finals.
The 18-year-old made the comments following Spain’s 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium in Los Angeles, a tense contest that booked a spot in a highly anticipated last-four meeting with France.
Yamal has scored once at the tournament, finding the net during Spain’s 4-0 group-stage victory over Saudi Arabia. That modest tally has caught some observers off guard, especially given the impact he produced for Barcelona, where he emerged as one of Europe’s most exciting young talents. After a standout season marked by goals, assists and decisive performances, expectations were high that he would reproduce that kind of attacking momentum on the World Cup stage.
But the Barcelona forward argues that his value to the team cannot be measured purely by personal statistics.
“Obviously I want to score, but I don’t go onto the pitch thinking about that. I do it thinking about helping the team,” Yamal said.
“If we win the World Cup, no one will remember whether I scored goals. The important thing is winning.”
He also pointed to the wider effect of his game—his movement and the way he draws defenders—which can open space for teammates, allowing Spain to keep threatening even when he isn’t the player finishing chances.
Yamal further rejected talk of comparisons with his UEFA Euro 2024 run, where he scored only once but still played a key role in Spain’s title-winning campaign.
