Lamine Yamal addresses goal drought head-on: If we win the World Cup, nobody will care

"I'm playing as well as I can. If Spain wins the World Cup, nobody will care that I'm not scoring goals," Yamal stated.

While Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane have collectively netted 29 goals at the World Cup in North America and Mexico, the 18-year-old Yamal has just one to his name, scored in a routine 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.

"Of course, I want to score, but I don't go onto the pitch thinking about it. I go out there with the idea of helping the team. I know I can be useful even if I don't score. My movement draws opposing players. I do everything I can to help the team," explained the FC Barcelona winger.

Two years ago, Yamal was just 16 during Spain's victorious European Championship campaign. He also scored only one goal then, but it was a crucial one. It came in the semi-final against France, helping the team to a 2-1 win and a spot in the final.

"There's an expectation that I should score more often than I did at the European Championship, but we won the title then with me scoring just one goal. And here at the World Cup, I also have one goal, so I'm calm," he responded with a smile.

However, Spain hopes that Yamal, who celebrates his 19th birthday the day before the semi-final against France (July 13), can find the net again if his team is to overcome the biggest favorite to win the World Cup title. "There are only two options: either they reach three consecutive World Cup finals, or we beat them three times in a row. We'll see what happens. Personally, I'm not afraid of that match; I'm looking forward to it," Yamal concluded.