Lamine Yamals Masterclass How Spain Solved Their World Cup Sluggishness

As the coach of Spain Luis de la Fuente mentioned, that his team performed badly and they were not focused. They had the ball almost the whole game but failed to score. Few days later, Spain faced Saudi Arabia and they won the match 4-0. It happened because of Lamine Yamal. He scored the goal and inspired his team to play better.

Spain’s Disappointing Start Against Cape Verde

The draw with Cape Verde wasn’t only about Spain failing to score goals. The latter had possession of the ball more than its opponent. However, Spain failed to produce any dangerous chances. Cape Verde defended properly, kept themselves united and forced Spain to play around with the ball without creating real danger.

Later on, De la Fuente admitted that Spain failed to move properly or to create space in that area of the field. The team did pass the ball well. However, it was easy for Cape Verde to defend because the team had some expectations about it. The main weakness of Spain was the absence of a player who could make Cape Verde defenders nervous. The defensive line of Cape Verde was solid. Spanish players failed to confuse them.

The Return of Lamine Yamal

Yamal was able to participate in the World Cup tournament after he recovered from an injury to his hamstring muscle. The Spanish coaches were very cautious about him. There was no way to tell how much time Yamal would spend playing in the opening round.

When the Spain national team had a match against Saudi Arabia, the Spanish coach decided to allow Yamal to start the game from the very beginning. This was an important decision which affected the style of attacking by the Spanish team instantly. From just circulating the ball, Spain switched to attacking quickly and efficiently. This made it difficult for Saudi Arabia to defend their goals and allowed Yamals teammates to move freely. The results became evident immediately and it raised the spirits of the entire team.

The Goal That Changed Everything

Spain needed a goal in order to settle down themselves, and Lamine Yamal supplied one. He scored his World Cup goal after just 10 minutes of the game. That killed the streak of the Spaniards of no goals.

It was an extremely vital goal for Spain. The Spanish had not scored in international football in close to 300 minutes and doubts had begun to surface regarding their attack. After this goal Spain seemed a different team altogether. Their passes got better, their movements faster and their attacks more fluid. They played brilliantly because of him.

A More Vertical Spain

There was an evolution in the approach taken by Spain against Saudi Arabia. Spain decided to adopt a direct approach to football. Instead of just moving the ball between players, they would pass it forward and create space for themselves.

Coach De la Fuente pointed out that the direct play by Spain was one of the things he observed after the match. Spain were trying to start attacking play and this put pressure on the defense of Saudi Arabia. Yamal is an example of a player who participated in this approach. Therefore, Spain remained good in retaining possession of the ball but they became more direct with their attack. Spain became a difficult team to defend against due to the change in their tactics.

The Oyarzabal Revival

Things were going great for Spain and it had nothing to do with just Yamal. Mikel Oyarzabal was performing better too. In the match against Cape Verde Mikel Oyarzabal performed poorly and spent a long time on his own.

However, in the match against Saudi Arabia he performed much better since Yamal was mobile which put Saudi Arabia under pressure. Mikel Oyarzabal found the net twice in the first half of the match against Saudi Arabia which made it very difficult for Saudi Arabia to recover. The way Spain was attacking was also far better as the players upfront received passes in favorable positions and could take shots from the areas from where they could score.

Tactical Tweaks from Luis de la Fuente

However, the development in Spains tactics was not due to one player alone. de la Fuente identified issues that plagued the team during its match against Cape Verde and addressed them.

Various sources have pointed out that Spain was playing in an entirely different way. The players spread out wider, ran to get overlapped, got assistance from players in midfield and at the back of the formation. This meant that Spain would always have more options of passing to players apart from Yamal. The tactics used by Spain ensured that they retained possession and could also create threats when they won back the ball in their opponents penalty area.

The Psychological Effect of an Early Lead

Football matches depend on the level of confidence of players, just as their strategies do. It was obvious that inability of Spain to score goals in the match against Cape Verde frustrated and made the players impatient.

Spain scoring of a goal during the match against Saudi Arabia had a huge impact on the players’ morale. There was no pressure on the players and therefore they could play free. Spanish players took risks, tried making longer passes and attacked the other players with a sense of conviction. As Spain’s attacks kept being successful, the players became more confident.

Why Yamal Is Already Indispensable

Eighteen-year-old Lamine Yamal has already established himself as an important figure in Spanish football. He provides chances, dismantles opponents’ defenses. Does incredible things on the pitch.

What distinguishes Yamal from others is that you never know what to expect from him. You may anticipate how Spain passes the ball but it is more difficult to predict his creativity and decision-making. It forces the opposing team’s defense to make changes constantly and that assists the rest of his teammates. Goal of Yamal during the World Cup, against Saudi Arabia could be considered as the turning point of Spain’s campaign.

Looking Ahead to Uruguay

With their victory against Saudi Arabia, Spain gained some confidence. In Group H, the biggest test may come yet. Spains clash against Uruguay will tell whether they continue the same effort against a better opponent.

Now Spain seems to have become more balanced compared to how it was after the draw with Cape Verde. The change in their tactics of play and Lamine Yamals contribution have affected them greatly. As long as Spain continues their attacks with such passion as they did in Atlanta, they will definitely be called among favorites of winning the World Cup. For now, there is one thing evident: when Lamine Yamal plays well, Spain becomes a much better team.