September 08, (THEWILL) – Barcelona wonderkid, Lamine Yamal, made history on Friday, by becoming Spain’s youngest ever international footballer and goalscorer at just 16 years and 57 days old.
Yamal was brought on as a 44th minute substitute in Spain’s Euro 2024 qualifier away against Georgia, breaking the previous record held by his Barcelona teammate, Gavi, who debuted for Spain at 17 years and 62 days in 2021.
The young prodigy later netted Spain’s seventh goal of the match with a composed finish inside the box, as the 2023 UEFA Nations League champions went on to triumph 7-1. Yamal’s record-breaking display comes just weeks after he also became Barcelona’s youngest ever player in an official match this August.
Since breaking into the Catalan club’s first team setup this season, Yamal has quickly established himself as an integral part of their attack and earned rave reviews, including man of the match in last month’s dramatic 4-3 La Liga comeback victory away at Villarreal.
Born and raised in Spain to a Moroccan father, 16-year-old Yamal has represented his nation across various youth levels and his senior call-up this week extinguished any hopes Morocco had of persuading the starlet to switch allegiance. Yamal’s meteoric rise from Barcelona’s Academy to Spain international is testament to his prodigious talent. Friday’s historic debut and goal, in which he shattered an 85-year record, suggests Yamal could become a mainstay for Spain for years to come.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
