Lamine Yamal Joins Elite Ranks with Historic World Cup Goal for Spain

Yamal's Historic Achievement

Atlanta [US], June 21: Lamine Yamal, an 18-year-old prodigy from Spain, has etched his name alongside football legends like Lionel Messi and the late Pele by scoring the opening goal for Spain in their FIFA World Cup match against Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Yamal found the net in the 11th minute, marking his first-ever FIFA World Cup goal at just 18 years and 343 days old, making him only 14 days younger than Messi was when he scored his inaugural World Cup goal (at 18 years and 357 days), according to ESPN.

As noted by Opta, Yamal is only the second player in FIFA World Cup history to score first for their nation at 18 or younger, following Pele, who was 17 when he scored for Brazil against Wales in 1958.

Yamal's scoring prowess bodes well for Spain, as statistics reveal that the team has never lost in the 21 matches where he has started, achieving 15 victories and six draws. During these games, Spain has netted 60 goals, with Yamal contributing significantly with five goals and 11 assists.

In the match, Yamal's opening goal, along with a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal, propelled Spain to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first half. This victory came after Spain's earlier disappointing goalless draw against debutants Cape Verde.

Lineups: Spain: Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Dani Olmo, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal.

Saudi Arabia: Mohammed Alowais; Ali Lajami, Abdulelah Alamri, Hassan Altambakti, Saud Abdulhamid, Moteb Alharbi; Nasser Al-Dawsari, Musab Aljuwayr, Abdullah Alkhaibari; Feras Albrikan, Salem Al-Dawsari.