Mikel Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad captain who scored Spain’s Euro 2024 final winner against England, believes Lamine Yamal is undersold. Speaking to Radio Marca, the 28-year-old forward argued that his teammate’s real value shows up in details a stats column will never register, as Goal reported.

“He is a player who changes the course of a match, not only for what he does, but for what he generates in the opponent, and what he generates in his team-mates too,” Oyarzabal said.

“Knowing that he is always there makes a big difference in football, and I think he is perhaps not appreciated enough.”

Off the pitch, an unlikely double-act

Oyarzabal is a low-key, understated presence in the Spain camp. Yamal, at 19, is one of the most talked-about players in world football, from his No. 10 shirt at Barcelona to a public profile that dwarfs almost anyone else in the group.

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“It’s clear that we are completely different and perhaps polar opposites, but we get along very well, and I think that opposites often attract,” Oyarzabal told Radio Marca.

He was equally clear that any mentoring role would have hard limits.

“I’m going to try to help him in any way I can. I won’t be able to help him much in terms of the field, in terms of playing football, because I won’t be able to tell him much about that.”

A World Cup winner at 19

Yamal arrived at Spain’s camp fresh from a summer that was itself a small run of records. He turned 19 six days before Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey, and he is one of the frontrunners on the 2026 Ballon d’Or shortlist alongside reigning holder Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane.

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His form for Barcelona has followed him into the international break, with a run of goals in his opening La Liga matches of the 2026-27 season.

Saturday at Wembley

Kick-off in London is at 7:45pm local time on Saturday, 26 September. It is Spain’s first meeting with England since the Euro 2024 final, which Oyarzabal decided with a late winner in Berlin.

Spain, under Luis de la Fuente, then host Croatia in Seville on 29 September before traveling to Oviedo to face Czechia on 3 October.

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