England weren't alone in admiring the young Spanish star Lamine Yamal. The Spanish and international media were unanimous in praising him as the man who sealed England's 3-2 defeat yesterday, Saturday, in the UEFA Nations League.
His goal came after just two minutes, but Yamal posed a constant threat even when England controlled the run of play. That is why the press highlighted his footballing maturity despite his young age. Most tellingly, they judged him not on his goal alone but on his danger across the pitch, according to the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo".
In Spain, "AS" led its website with the news that the "world champion" was renewing its standing and that Yamal continued to "hone his skills".
"Marca" ran the main headline: "Olé and the return of the world champions at Wembley". Lamine is the focus of the article, which points out that Spain began the match "in control thanks to Lamine".
Crucially, the paper reduces his performance to more than the goal. It makes clear that every ball Lamine touched during most of the first half thrilled the Wembley crowd, praising his passes, his backheel touches, his shots and his dribbles.
The article also refers to a moment when Lamine put his former teammate Ferran Torres in an ideal position to score.
"La Vanguardia" led its headlines with the phrase "Spain destroy Wembley", reporting that Lamine won the Ballon d'Or race against Harry Kane. The young academy graduate "did not shy away from the challenge", the paper noted, and beyond his goals he also provided decisive assists.
Over at "El Periódico", the headline read "Spain continue to nurture their star". In the final appearance of both strikers before the closing of voting, the paper explained, the forward delivered an extremely strong performance, and "Lamine outshone Kane".
The English press noted that Yamal opened the scoring immediately, capitalising on a mistake by Marc Guéhi after just two minutes. "Sky Sports" presented the goal as part of a Spanish performance that proved Spain's status as a global power, and drew attention to a striking statistic: this was the third fastest goal England had conceded at Wembley Stadium.
The Independent's analysis matters because it immediately highlighted England's inability to manage possession and Spain's pressing. The newspaper presents this early phase as evidence of Spain's ability to impose their style of play.
The Guardian presented Yamal as one of the reasons for Spain's dominance in the first part of the match, while The Sun identified him as the player who delivered the first blow to England, though its report focuses more on the English errors.
In France, L'Équipe focused on Spain's strong comeback despite trailing 2-1. On Lamine, the paper noted that his early goal gave Spain the lead, although England managed to limit Spain's influence before the end of the first half.
"La Gazzetta dello Sport" confirmed that the academy graduate was "one of the stars of the night". After the match, "Corriere dello Sport" noted that "the deadlock was broken after less than two minutes thanks to one of the most anticipated stars: Yamal". The Italian newspaper explained that Lamine exploited a gap in the English defence to give Spain the lead 1-0.
Tuttosport pays greater attention to the individual play. Its report describes how Guéhi misjudged clearing the ball, handing it to Lamine Yamal, who fired it into Trafford's net to put the European and world champions ahead.
Eurosport Italia points to Lamine as the "key" player in that moment, noting his involvement in the attacks that could have given Spain a bigger lead before the end of the first half.
Even UEFA praised the Spain national team on its website, placing their performance in the context of the world champions' win at Wembley Stadium.