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Editor's note: Follow France vs. Spain World Cup semifinal LIVEARLINGTON, TX — It is impossible to imagine, for those of us who suffered through awkward teenage years, who look back and laugh at cringey styles, poor decisions or lazy days and nights what it would be like. How does a young person cope with the pressure of not only figuring out how to live life as a teenager but to do so while being important, while being asked to perform on one of the biggest stages?Yet, Lamine Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, July 13, does not seem at all weighed down by the bulk of the expectations on his shoulders."I don't feel pressure. You all say I'm not at my best level, so you don't have to expect anything from me," he said in a news conference on his birthday. "But I'm sure tomorrow is going to be a special day."And make no mistake, those expectations are being placed onto Yamal ahead of the World Cup semifinal against France on Tuesday, July 14.Sure, there are other talents in the Spain team. He can lean on his teammates in the back, with Spain allowing only one goal thus far this tournament. He can hope for another goal from Mikel Merino, twice the late-game hero for La Roja in the World Cup.But the reality is that Spain is unlikely to add a second star over its crest without Yamal having a breakout game.His manager, Luis de la Fuente, knows that - even if Yamal has taken on the message the coach has preached."He’s 19 now … madre mia," the manager said Monday evening in a news conference. "I told him to relax, to enjoy and above all not be anxious, that he enjoys soccer like he knows how to do, and I reiterate again: Lamine’s great day is still to come in a World Cup - hopefully it’s tomorrow if not in the final if we can get through!"Spain already has to cope with France's high-powered attack, and if recent meetings are anything to judge by, it will need goals to get through. While Spain's 2-1 win in the Euro 2024 semifinal, in which Yamal scored the equalizer after a France opener, might be more indicative of how the World Cup semi will flow, there also is the most recent meeting as an example.Spain led 4-0 just before the hour mark of the UEFA Nations League semifinal, only to see France storm back. Yamal's 67th-minute goal to make things 5-1 ended up being the winner in a 5-4 contest.While international goals have flowed for Yamal since the Catalonia native made his debut for La Roja in September 2023, he has scored just one goal in the 2026 World Cup. That came in a group match against Saudi Arabia, shortly after one of the low points of the World Cup for Spain, their scoreless stalemate with Cape Verde to open the tournament.It didn't pour rocket fuel on Yamal, but against a France team whose weak link might be left back Lucas Digne, who the teenager should be able to run at. But, he insisted, while he is ready for a great World Cup match and will hope to hold the Man of the Match trophy after, he is not feeling any heat."No, pressure no. I play how I know how and I'll never play better or worse than I know how to play. I give what I have in service of the team," he said. "When you give everything and know that you can do what people ask of you, you don't feel pressure."Perhaps it is because life taught him many lessons at a young age. Yamal grew up in the outskirts of Barcelona, born to a mother from Equitorial Guinea and a father from Morocco. He was in the FC Barcelona system at a young age, but still saw people with real challenges in Rocafonda, the neighborhood of Mataró where he grew up. Half of the population there are below Spain's poverty line."As I always say, I think there are situations in life much more difficult than a soccer match, so I always think about that," he said. "It's all good. At the end of the day, it's a game, they're plays. After the game, everyone continues on with their life."So, I’m relaxed, I know what I’m capable of and I don’t worry too much or get overwhelmed."Despite a slow start to the World Cup, France also is aware that Yamal could be ready for a breakout. After all, he has scored in two semifinals against them in the last two years.Even so, stopping Yamal and allowing Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal or Dani Olmo to sink Les Bleus would be a failure, leading France to adopt a more wide-ranging approach."There is no anti-Yamal plan," French midfielder Adrian Rabiot said during a French media event Monday. "We are focusing on Spain as a whole, not on a single player."We know they are a dangerous team in every area of the pitch: in possession, in tight spaces near the box, in their combination play, and with their forwards. We need to focus, above all, on limiting their system, not just one player."Even so, there will be plenty of eyeballs on Yamal - from the French defenders to the VIPs filing into Dallas Stadium to see if the teenage sensation can do it on the biggest stage yet.Most of us can never imagine being a teenager in such a situation. For Yamal, it's another day, another task he is sure he can take on. If he doesn't, life goes on, he is still only 19. More chances will come, but he is doing everything he can to take this one so he doesn't look back at the photos decades from now and wonder what he was thinking at that age.
