Jamal: My personal goals do not matter

Los Angeles – AFP – Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal said his failure to score goals would not matter if his national team, Spain, won the FIFA World Cup, after the promising star once again failed to find the net in Friday’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium in Los Angeles.

At a tournament where stars such as Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Kylian Mbappe, Norway’s Erling Haaland, and England’s Harry Kane shone in terms of scoring, Yamal, 18, has scored only one goal so far, in a comfortable 4-0 group-stage win over Saudi Arabia.

Yamal said, “Of course I want to score, but I don’t go onto the pitch thinking about that. I do it while thinking about helping the national team.”

He added, “If we win the World Cup, no one will remember whether I scored goals... The most important thing is winning,” following the Los Angeles victory that set up a semi-final clash with France.

He continued, “I know I can contribute even if I don’t score. I realize my movements attract many opponents, so I do everything I can to help the national team.”

Smiling, he said, “There is an idea that I should score more, as in the European Championship, but we won the tournament and I scored only one goal. I have one goal here as well, so I am comfortable with that.”