A closer look at Lamine Yamal's defensive contribution for Spain at the World Cup

[p]Clichés die hard. One day, it was decided that [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lamine-yamal/lAt3vEub/"]Lamine Yamal[/a][/b] doesn't defend. Since then, especially in France, nothing has changed: Lamine Yamal doesn't defend. [/p][p]In a World Cup where he hasn't shone enough offensively - partly due to a thigh injury picked up late in the LaLiga season - the left-footer, who just turned 19, started on the bench before having to speed up his return because of the draw against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-verde/MocyWdm7/"]Cape Verde[/a].[/p][p][b]And if there's one area where Lamine Yamal doesn't hold back, it's on the defensive side. In five starts, his contribution is significant, especially for a winger who goes into a lot of duels, with all the risks of losing the ball that come with it. [/b][/p][embed guid="d0dd1ee4-6943-42ba-a3b2-d4a28baae27a" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2076289990221521143" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Impressive numbers[/h2][p]With a team that plays possession football, sometimes to excess, space is tight and pressing has to be immediate to avoid counter-attacks. In this area, the Catalan works extremely hard. For example, against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/austria/naHiWdnt/"]Austria[/a], he made four tackles out of five and racked up six recoveries. [/p][p]In total, he has made six tackles out of seven and completed 21 recoveries. And that's not counting his 36 duels won out of 66 (34/60 counting only his starts). In just four-and-a-half matches (he was subbed off at half-time against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/saudi-arabia/biSY8ox4/"]Saudi Arabia[/a]), that's pretty solid - far from the unfair image of a lazy player unwilling to contribute to the team effort. [/p][p][b]In this regard, he's even well ahead of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dembele-ousmane/zsMC2Ec0/"]Ousmane Dembele[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/olise-michael/E5pvwqkK/"]Michael Olise[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a], the untouchable French attacking players since the start of the tournament. Of the three, only Olise has contested more duels than Lamine Yamal (65 in six starts, compared to 28 for Dembele and 44 for Mbappe), but he has won fewer (26). [/b][/p][p]As for tackles, the three Frenchmen have seven between them, compared to six for the Spaniard. In terms of recoveries, only Olise surpasses him with 29 balls won, compared to 12 for Dembele and 13 for Mbappe. [/p][image alt="Lamine Yamal's tournament so far" id="7786456a-285d-435d-9cb2-0664819338db" credit-line="IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters / Gary Vasquez / Opta by StatsPerform" guid="9f5928d6-6fab-4301-9c82-19346878604e" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]To really appreciate the invisible work Lamine Yamal does, maybe we should compare him to midfielders? In terms of recoveries, Lamine Yamal is among the top performers in the Seleccion. For example, against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a], only one teammate did better: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodri/K0G8DB00/"]Rodri[/a] (seven to six).[/p][p]Against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a], he was outdone by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/laporte-aymeric/SYnaB65s/"]Aymeric Laporte[/a] (six), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/olmo-dani/2oVBOlPg/"]Dani Olmo[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simon-unai/Ao9Vw3hi/"]Unai Simon[/a] (five), and tied with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/porro-pedro/nTebDzHC/"]Pedro Porro[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pedri/baBG8QuI/"]Pedri[/a], who had a very good half-hour (four).[/p][p]On the French side, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rabiot-adrien/l08EAP2Q/"]Adrien Rabiot[/a] mainly defends standing up, and it shows in the stats: three tackles out of three in five starts. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kone-kouadio/YDaoYZBS/"]Manu Kone[/a] has a ratio of 4/7 in four starts, which puts him... behind Lamine Yamal in this area, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tchouameni-aurelien/QkiZum3e/"]Aurelien Tchouaméni[/a] leads with 10/13 in three matches. In terms of recoveries, he's even ahead of Rabiot and Tchouameni (19 each) and level with Kone (21)! [/p][p][b]The tougher opposition [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a] have faced from the round of 16 onwards has forced Lamine Yamal to defend a lot, even if it means losing some sharpness in his key passes and shots.[/b][/p][p]Still, with a Seleccion that dominates possession, the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to his commitment to pressing after losing the ball. Very, very far from the clichés spread, whether out of bad faith or blindness. [/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/france-QkGeVG1n/spain-bLyo6mco/?mid=pU0PQ9nR"]Follow France vs Spain with Flashscore![/a][/b][/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]