How Lamine Yamal became Spain's youngest international debutant and goalscorer

The last goal in a comfortable 7-1 stroll against Georgia is not usually a moment that will live long in the memory.

Yet, the identity of the scorer ensured that it left an indelible mark in Spanish football history. Lamine Yamal had already become Spain's youngest-ever male debutant when he trotted onto the pitch before half-time at the embryonic age of 16 years and 57 days. The teenager swiftly added another record to his name with a crisply taken goal to cap off a rout in Friday's Euro qualifier.

Spanish football has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons since the women's national team beat England to win the World Cup in August, after which the president of the nation's football federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales planted an unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso's lips during the celebrations.

The tumultuous aftermath has brought government involvement, legal proceedings and a hunger strike. Rubiales is suspended but has not resigned, casting a cloud over the upcoming fixtures for the men's team - who are led by Luis de la Fuente, part of the crowd that applauded Rubiales when he refused to step down.

Yamal's record-breaking night offers some excitement amid the changing landscape of Spanish football.

Youngest Spanish internationals of all time

Data via Transfermarkt

Reflecting on his own senior debut, Xavi Hernandez remembered: "When [Barcelona head coach Louis] Van Gaal called me to tell me the news I was starting, I was just scared. A sort of feeling that, if I'm honest, I don't see this anymore among youngsters. Now I see players like Lamine, for example, with such a mentality… that I think I was not even close to. Youngsters have changed. They are braver than we were back in the day."

As manager of Barcelona, Xavi has been given a front row seat to the conveyor belt of young Iberian talent. Four of the ten youngest male Spanish players of all time have played for his Barcelona team this season.

Yamal broke the record set by Gavi just two years earlier. When the tenacious tackler made his debut against Italy in 2021 as a 17-year-old, Emerson Palmieri admitted: "I didn't know him." As any opponent will attest, Emerson soon became accustomed with Gavi's full-throttle style.

Fittingly, Gavi started against Georgia wearing a scrum cap after putting his head where it hurts. His midfield compatriot Pedri was not available while recovering from yet another injury. Pedri - who debuted at 18 - was shamelessly overworked in his first professional season of football, competing in the Euros and Olympics during the same summer of 2021. Xavi's difference-maker for Barcelona has struggled with his fitness ever since.

Ansu Fati left Barcelona on transfer deadline day to join Brighton on loan after injury - and Yamal's emergence - knocked him down the pecking order in Catalonia. Fati became Spain's second-youngest debutant in September 2020 and rifled in a record-breaking goal against Ukraine three days later.

Gavi would later surpass Fati's status as Spain's youngest scorer before Yamal became the first 16-year-old to ever find the net for La Roja against Georgia. Precious few nations have ever had a younger goalscorer.

Youngest international goalscorers for a European nation

Data via RSSSF

Aung Kyaw Tun is the only male player in recorded history to score an international goal as a 14-year-old, finding the net for Myanmar against Thailand at the turn of the century.

However, in a European context, there have only ever been three younger goalscorers than Yamal. Samuel Johnston opened his international account for Northern Ireland in the 19th century as a 15-year-old while Jozsef Horvath broke his duck for Hungary before street lamps were invented.

Anthony Hernandez scored for Gibraltar against the Faroe Islands as a 16-year-old in March 2011 before the controversial territory was officially recognised by UEFA. RSSSF include Hernandez's goal in their records but Opta do not.

Whatever the case, everyone can agree that Yamal is a fiendishly prodigious talent. However, few players that have found the net as young as the winger have continued to score at a prolific rate.

Of the ten youngest scorers in men's European football history, only two ever broke into double digits for their country. Paul Van Himst racked up 30 international goals for Belgium, cementing his status as an Anderlecht icon while finishing in the top five of the Ballon d'Or voting on two separate occasions. Towards the end of his impressive career, Van Himst overlapped in Belgium with the prolific Polish forward Wlodzimierz Lubanski.

Before a certain Robert Lewandowski rocked up, Lubanski was his nation's all-time leading scorer with 48 goals - the first of which arrived when he still 16.

The odds may not be staked in Yamal's favour but he was already looking ahead after a dream debut. "It is going to be a very long road with Spain and I hope we win many things together."

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