Michel Salgado, legend of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, highlighted a strong duel in the match between La Roja and Portugal in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Salgado said, in statements highlighted by the Spanish newspaper 'AS': 'The one-on-one duel between Lamine Yamal and Nuno Mendes will be one of the most prominent individual battles in the World Cup, and this type of clash highlights the greatness of matches and tournaments.'

He added: 'I think this battle will likely be one of the decisive moments of the match. If Lamine gets the better of Nuno, Spain will have a big advantage, but if the opposite happens, Portugal will have the upper hand.'

He concluded: 'But I trust Lamine, because he has a magical box full of tricks, and when he unleashes them, he is unstoppable. So Nuno will have to give his best, that is perfectly clear. It will be a physical battle between two exceptionally fast players, the kind of duel capable of breaking any tactical system or game plan set by the coach, unleashing a pure individual contest.'