Former Barcelona defender Laurent Blanc has identified Lamine Yamal as the player who has made Spain one of the top challengers in the FIFA World Cup in addition to praising Lionel Messi’s outstanding exploits with Argentina.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Blanc—who managed the French national team after playing for Barcelona during the 1996–97 season—reflected on the tournament thus far and listed the teams who have most impressed him.
It’s interesting to note that he only specifically highlighted Yamal and Messi when talking about his favourite players to win the World Cup.
An Unpredictable World Cup
Blanc emphasized that no country can afford to overlook any opponent at World Cup after evaluating the games that have been played thus far.
He began,“It seems clear to me that there are no easy matches.
“Cape Verde drew with Spain, Congo held Portugal, Qatar drew 1-1 with Switzerland, Japan drew 2-2 with the Netherlands, while Ghana stopped England. I could go on.
“At international level, you always have to play at your best and with maximum concentration.”
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Furthermore, when asked to identify the strongest teams in the competition, Blanc made a particularly telling observation about Spain.
He replied: “Germany are strong, Spain with Yamal are a different team, Messi’s Argentina are the reigning champions and must be respected, then there’s Ancelotti’s Brazil.
“Among the ‘surprises’, I’d include Switzerland and Morocco.”
