Lamine Yamal strengthened his case as the Ballon dOr frontrunner with a superb display during Spains 4-1 win over Croatia on Tuesday night. The Barcelona winger scored twice and provided an assist as Spain made the perfect start to life in their new campaign, with the win extending their unbeaten run to 40 matches.Yamal opened the scoring inside the opening minutes before adding Spains third goal after the break.His first strike came after a move involving Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez left him with an opening inside the penalty area, with Yamal choosing to shoot towards the near post and catching goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic off guard.Yamal explained afterwards that his familiarity with the Croatia goalkeeper helped him decide where to place the finish.I already know him from training, I have thought about training, about what he does and it has entered me, Yamal said.Yamal gives blunt Ballon dOr answerYamal was asked whether his performance had provided another argument for him to win the Ballon dOr, with the winger answering with two words.Another one.The vote for this years award has already closed, meaning Yamals latest performance will not have an impact on the result, but the 19-year-old insisted the individual prize is not driving his ambitions.In the end I dont just play for this Ballon dOr, I play for myself, for the fans, for next season, for my team, to continue winning, Yamal said.I dont know, I dont vote, nor do I know who won, I dont know anything. Lets wait and keep playing.We are very excited to be able to bring the cup here and show it to the fans and be able to win and bring it home, great.We always have to come out plugged in, what the coach tells us, what we talk to each other and very happy for the victory, Yamal said. Topics Croatia National Football Team Lamine Yamal Spain National Football Team Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Spain 4-1 Croatia: Report, result and goals as Yamal steals the show in dominant win Mitch Fretton 29th September, 2026 Yamal scores and assists as Spain take lead over Croatia Mitch Fretton 29th September, 2026 Spain vs Croatia live: Confirmed teams and line ups Ben Miller 29th September, 2026 Tip of the Day: Spain to march on and more misery for struggling Carlisle Jon Fisher 29th September, 2026 England squad announcement: Full list for Nations League 2026 Ben Miller 29th September, 2026 Spain v Croatia: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch Ben Miller 29th September, 2026
