16-year-old football talent Lamine Yamal from Barcelona is on the verge of becoming the youngest player to make his debut for the Spanish national team.
This decision comes after Yamal chose to represent Spain over his father’s country, Morocco, as reported by SPORT.
Yamal had a tough choice to make, as he had to decide whether to play for Spain, where he was born and developed as a player, or for Morocco, his father’s homeland.
Eventually, the young player, who is highly valued by Barcelona, decided to play for Spain.
Before making this decision, Yamal talked to Moroccan coach Walid Regragui and met with representatives from the Spanish Federation, Francis Hernández and Tito Blanco, who travelled to Barcelona for these discussions.
The selection process was overseen by director Albert Luque.
As Morocco’s coach Regragui gets ready to announce the team for upcoming matches against Liberia and Burkina Faso in September, he admitted that Yamal won’t be part of the team.
Yamal has a strong record of playing in Spain’s youth divisions, including the recent European U17 Championship. This experience has made him familiar to the Spanish national team.
Barcelona’s coach, Xavi, also expressed his support for Yamal representing Spain.
Yamal is likely to be in the preliminary list of players for important matches against Georgia and Cyprus under coach Luis de la Fuente’s guidance.
These matches are crucial for Spain to qualify for the 2024 European Championship.
According to the report, Yamal’s name will also be on the final list of players for these matches.
The Spanish Federation’s smooth handling of this process is similar to how they managed Abdessamad Ezzalzouli last season.
Ezzalzouli’s case ended differently. Despite initially choosing Spain, he was not called up by coach Luis Enrique and eventually decided to play for Morocco.