Spain forward Lamine Yamal has said that he is not feeling any pressure ahead of his nation’s World Cup semi-final clash against France. He recently dismissed suggestions that numerology could influence the biggest match of his career.
Insisting that he feels no anxiety ahead of the crucial match, Yamal stated that he remains solely focused on helping Spain reach the World Cup final.
Lamine added that turning 19, wearing the No.19 shirt and potentially playing the final on July 19 does not carry any significance.
His words, “No, because the Portugal coach talked about that [numerology] … and then Mikel Merino turned up! I’m not worried about scoring, all that matters is winning, but hopefully a goal comes tomorrow and it’s a great day. What I want as a present is a win.
Pressure? No. There are much harder things in life than a football match. It’s a game, I know what I’m capable of and I’m not worried about anything.
I was asked if there was fear and I said no, obviously not: we’re European champions. We don’t have to talk too much, we know what we have to do.
We’re going to play one of the nicest games, there’s no space to talk about that. But if football serves any purpose it is for integration.
All the more so with Spain and France, which are examples. That’s what football is for; not for talking about comments like that.
It’s special to [have] scored in games like this and of course I accept the challenge. You lot say I am not at my best level, so you don’t need to expect anything from me tomorrow. But I hope it will be a special day.”
