Lewandowski: This wasn't the best Yamal, but he still helped Spain immensely

Robert Lewandowski has lauded his former Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal for his crucial role in Spain's World Cup triumph, despite the young forward battling a physical setback. The 19-year-old entered the tournament with a thigh injury sustained in late April. Nevertheless, he featured in all eight of "La Roja's" matches, contributing a goal and an assist.

"Honestly, we didn't see the best of him in this tournament," Lewandowski told ESPN. "The best performance, the best Lamine for me wasn't last season, but two seasons ago – that was the best version of Lamine Yamal. He's still young, he came to the World Cup after an injury and hadn't played for eight weeks. When you have to start a World Cup, you don't have time to train match by match. He still showed excellent qualities. The Spanish players and the team helped Lamine, but he also helped the entire squad. I think the teamwork was perfect."

The two were teammates at Barcelona, where they played 127 matches together across all competitions. The Polish striker, whose national team failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, stated he supported Spain throughout the tournament due to his time spent in La Liga with the Catalan club.

"I know many players from Spain and spent so much time with them at Barcelona, so I supported them a lot. Of course, from Argentina, I only know Leo (Messi) personally, but I know he won the last World Cup. That's why I supported the Spanish national team, because if you play with them and spend a lot of time together, it's easier to support that team. I was happy because I knew they were ready to win the World Cup. They are very young, and the future is ahead of them," Lewandowski said, as quoted by BTA.

Following the conclusion of last season, the 37-year-old Pole joined Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer as a free agent, signing a two-year contract. He even made his debut last night against Inter Miami, but his team fell 3-2, and he failed to get on the scoresheet.