The 17-year-old ace scored twice as La Roja earned a thrilling 5-4 win over France on Thursday (05.06.25) and the coach has backed the Barcelona forward to become the youngest winner of the prestigious individual accolade.

De la Fuente told RTVE: "Lamine Yamal has made a statement tonight and shown that he should win the Ballon d'Or.

"He's the best player in the world and, in my opinion, of course, he deserves to win the Ballon d'Or.

"On the field, there were two of the best teams in the world. The game went in our favour.

"It's not easy to score five goals against an opponent. We took our chances very well. It shows the high level of the players."

Despite his prodigious talent, Yamal insists that he simply tries to "give (his) all" whenever he steps out onto the pitch.

He said: "I always say the same thing to [my] mum, that I try to give my all.

"That is what motivates me and what gets me up in the morning. It is why I play football. It's always best to speak on the pitch."

Yamal stressed that his focus was on leading Spain to glory in the Nations League - where they face Portugal in the final on Sunday (08.06.25) - rather than winning individual prizes.

He said: "It will be an even final against Portugal, just like this game. They have world-class players like France.

"It's a game between two really good sides and I hope the best team wins and we take the trophy back to Spain."