By Sean Walsh
Lamine Yamal is now the youngest player in the history of the European Championships to feature in a game and provide an assist.
At the age of 16 years and 338 days, Yamal shattered two records as Spain beat Croatia 3-0 in their first group stage game at Euro 2024. He is the only 16-year-old to ever play at the tournament.
The Barcelona winger's place in La Roja's starting lineup proved to be deserved too, coming up with the assist for their third goal of the day.
Spain broke the deadlock through Alvaro Morata, who was fed by a smart pass between the lines from Fabian Ruiz. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder got on the scoresheet himself soon after when he danced away from Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic before firing home from the edge of the box.
Croatia seemed content to get into half-time at 2-0 down, only for Spain to score with one final attack. A short corner routine allowed Yamal to step inside and put the ball on a plate for Dani Carvajal to tap in at the near post.
Yamal could have added another record to his collection after half-time when he missed a glorious chance to score, with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic denying him with a low save when one-on-one.
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente withdrew Yamal with just under five minutes of regulation time remaining to a warm ovation from the small contingent of La Roja fans inside the Olympiastadion.
Yamal and Spain will return to Euro 2024 action on Thursday evening when they face holders Italy in Gelsenkirchen.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Lamine Yamal smashes two European Championship records in Spain's demolition of Croatia.
