Rodri urges Lamine Yamal to calm down ahead of France clash

Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder and captain of the Spanish national team, said that his young teammate Lamine Yamal needs to “calm his nerves a little” amid the pressures he is facing during his participation in the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking in Dallas ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final clash with France, Rodri noted that the 19-year-old Barcelona winger “remains a very important player for the team, both with and without the ball,” adding that his desire to prove himself could sometimes lead to tension on the pitch.

The Spanish captain, who is 11 years older than Yamal, described his teammate as a “smart young man” and said the squad sometimes has to calm him down during matches, emphasizing that “football runs in his veins” and that it is simply a matter of finding the right moments.

La Roja, managed by Luis de la Fuente, aim to reach the final for the second time in their history, following their triumph in 2010, where they will face the winner of the Argentina-England match. Although Yamal has scored only one goal in the tournament, during the emphatic 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, Rodri stressed that his value cannot be measured by statistics alone, but by the maturity he displays at such a young age.

Rodri said: “The player who showed this maturity at Euro 2024 becomes less surprising when he is two years older. At that age, I was at the beginning of my career and had not yet reached the highest levels.” He concluded by affirming that Yamal is “a mature young man who still has room to develop in understanding crucial moments, which is natural for his age, but everyone knows his level well.”