Lamine Yamal has caught everyone's attention ahead of the World Cup semi-final between France and Spain, scheduled for tomorrow Tuesday.

Although his statistics in this tournament are still far from those of the stars of the 2026 World Cup, the young Barcelona winger enjoys great confidence within the Spanish national team.

When asked about this in a press conference, his captain Rodri was keen to defend his teammate, while at the same time pointing out the progress he still needs to make to become a more complete player: "The coach (Luis de la Fuente) said yesterday: Lamine needs more calm. Sometimes, he feels a strong, overwhelming desire to prove himself. He has to learn how to channel this anxiety."

He continued: "He is a key player for us, with or without the ball. He is a very smart young man. We must not forget that he is not yet nineteen years old. In some moments of the match, we just need to calm him down a bit, because football runs through his veins."

In remarks reported by RMC Sport, Spanish midfielder Rodri affirmed that Yamal is a world-class player despite his young age.

He said: "For us, he is already a benchmark in his position. We hope he will have a very important role against France. He showed exceptional maturity at Euro 2024. Two years later, what he offers is no longer surprising. At his age, I had not started playing at the highest level; perhaps I was not even a professional yet."

Rodri concluded his remarks by pointing out that his teammate still has room to develop in reading matches: "He is a very mature player. Obviously, there are aspects he still needs to improve, especially in his understanding of the different phases of the match. This is perfectly normal at his age. He is a young man who listens well, always wants to learn, and above all, for us, he is a benchmark in his position."