This is the sensation of recent months at Barça. At just 16 years old (he celebrated them on July 13), Lamine Yamal is gradually making his mark with the Blaugrana, even more so since the recent departure of Ousmane Dembélé from PSG. And very quickly, the question of the choice of nationality arose: the young striker was born in Esplugues de Llobregat, very close to Camp Nou, to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea.
According to brandYamal and his entourage decided after a meeting with representatives of Roja, last week: he will play for Spain, and Luis de la Fuente, the coach, must also retain him in the next list announced Friday in view of the Euro 2024 qualifying matches in Georgia and then against Cyprus in Granada, on September 8 and 12.
Morocco can still believe in it (a little)
Extremely precocious, Yamal will continue his progression with the selections of his country of birth, which he successively represented in U15, U16, U17 and among the Espoirs.
However, all is not lost for the Atlas Lions, who would have liked to recover this immense potential. It is now possible since 2020 to change sporting nationality more easily, provided that you have not played more than three official matches for your first selection before celebrating your 21st birthday (excluding final phase matches), and to wait three years before to put on a new jersey.
This is how, for example, Munir El-Haddadi, a former Barça prodigy selected once with Spain in 2014, can since 2021 wear the colors of Morocco.