A VETERAN French star has attempted to get into the head of Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal by telling him he must “do much more”.
Spain meet France in the semi-final of Euro 2024 tonight in Munich.
And in the build-up to the highly-anticipated showdown, Adrien Rabiot wants to make sure that 16-year-old Yamal is feeling the pressure.
The Barcelona youngster has been in fine form for his country so far at the tournament and has started each one of Spain’s five matches.
Yamal has recorded three assists so far at the Euros, including the one for Dani Olmo’s opener in the quarter-final victory over Germany.
Fans and pundits from across the continent have hailed the teen’s mature performances on the big stage this summer.
But now ex-PSG and Juventus midfielder Rabiot, who has just become a free agent, has claimed that now Yamal will feel the real pressure.
And the 29-year-old says that the French stars need to make him feel the heat as they prepare to battle it out for a spot in the Sunday’s final.
Rabiot told reporters at the pre-match press conference: “We saw that he was a player who knew how to handle pressure very well.
“He has a lot of qualities. He is capable of playing with his qualities at club level as well as in major tournaments, without pressure.
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“Afterwards, it is always complicated to manage a semi-final in a tournament like that, but it will be up to us to put the pressure on him above all, not to let him feel comfortable and to show him that to play in a Euro final, he will have to do much more than what he has done so far.”
Rabiot’s comments have seemingly not gone unnoticed by Yamal.
He appears to have responded to them with his latest Instagram post.
The talented teen posted an image of a hand moving a chess piece along with a subtle message.
It read: “Move in silence. Only speak when it’s time to say checkmate.”
Yamal became the first teenager to register three assists at a single edition of the men’s European Championships or World Cup since in 1966 on Friday.
Spain’s youngest-ever player is also just the fourth man to set up three goals at a single Euros for La Roja.
He has now joined Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and Olmo on that list.
