Former coach of Lamine Yamal says world has 'not yet seen what he's capable of'

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lamine-yamal/lAt3vEub/"]Yamal[/a] has surged past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kane-harry/v5HSlEAa/"]Harry Kane[/a] to claim a narrow favouritism for this month's 2026 Ballon d'Or award in London after scoring three goals in Spain's first two matches of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, opening the scoring within two minutes against both England and Croatia. [/p][p]The World Cup winner has amassed an incredible 11 goals and seven assists in his last eight matches for either [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] or Spain, threatening to overshadow the 73 club and international goals that Kane racked up for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern Munich[/a] in 2025/26.[/p][p]Kane was an undisputed Ballon d'Or favourite prior to the World Cup after recording the second-best goalscoring season in football history, behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a]'s 82 from 69 matches for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011/12. [/p][p]One man not at all surprised by Yamal's purple patch is former Barcelona under-16s coach Ivan Carrasco, who worked with Yamal during the 2021/22 season, one year before Yamal became Barcelona's youngest first team player in 100 years. [/p][p]Carrasco told [a href="https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2026/09/30/es-lamine-el-que-hace-mejor-a-los-demas-no-al-reves-el-vinculo-de-la-masia-que-se-suma-a-las-reivindicaciones-para-el-balon-de-oro-cadena-ser/" target="_blank"]SER Deportivos[/a] radio that Yamal's "incredible natural talent" was "very obvious" from the moment he first laid eyes on the then 14-year-old.[/p][p]"[b]Everyone who worked closely with Lamine knew he had a lot of potential, a lot of natural talent,[/b]" he said. "[b]I think we haven't seen everything he's capable of yet.[/b][/p][p]"He's still very young, he has a lot to prove, even though he's already leading a team as important as FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, at just 18 or 19 years old. We still have a lot to see.[/p][p]"[b]Maybe last season he didn't have the best numbers in the regular league, but he's still in his breakout phase. This seasons numbers are already better than last seasons.[/b]"[/p][image alt="Lamine Yamal Form" id="9dbd37e6-c976-4cd4-83b8-b55abdd9ca9d" credit-line="Flashscore" hidden-attrs="alt, credit" guid="740f495f-7545-4074-a2fe-67e9c9931bd2" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Carrasco also defended Yamal's immensely confident demeanour, which continues to divide opinion across the footballing world. [/p][p]Comments such as Yamal's declaration last month that he "deserves" the Ballon d'Or ahead of Kane and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a] are seen by some as unnecessarily cocky and others as admirably honest and transparent. [/p][p]Carrasco believes it's just "[b]his natural way of expressing himself[/b]".[/p][p]"[b]He's sincere, honest. He's a person with a very strong character,[/b]" Carrasco added.[/p][p]"He knows the talent he has, that he's in the top 1 or top 2 in the world, and he says so openly.[/p][p]"[b]He's not the type of footballer that people generally accept most readily, a humble footballer like Iniesta or Messi, but this is his way of being.[/b]"[/p][infobox id="d39bc573-b9dd-4b87-acb9-2de1f22d36c7" /]