"Yamal is the best in the world, he deserves the Ballon d'Or"

Spain's national coach Luis de la Fuente said Thursday, after his team's 5-4 victory over France in the Nations League semifinals, that Lamine Yamal made a statement and deserves to win the Ballon d'Or.

The coach from La Rioja defended the candidacy of the Barcelona attacker and also spoke about another player, Unai Simon, who played a great game that stopped France with great saves.

"I am very happy for both of them. Especially for Unai, who has been mistreated for a long time. And questioned. I hope that some people now recognize the value he has. And also Lamine, who has made a statement and has shown that he is a candidate for the Ballon d'Or. He is the best player in the world and deserves the Ballon d'Or," he said before the microphones of ‘TVE’.

He also said he was very happy for the victory in a match that he described as "very important and very difficult", with alternatives that showed that on the pitch "there were two of the most important teams in the world".

"Fortunately, the match went in our favour. It was very difficult, but we are very happy. It's not easy to score five goals against an opponent with France's potential. We took our chances very well. They did too and that shows the high level that was on the pitch, of the strikers and in short of all the players. It is what I have spoken with the French coach, that it was a pleasure to see this type of match because of the number of stars that were there," he said.

Asked if he would have liked Spain to calm the game when leading 5-1 to prevent a comeback from the rival, he confirmed that this was “the theory”, but made it clear that the rivals also play:

"Unfortunately, the opponents don't agree and pose other circumstances. And when there is so much quality, there are options to get into the game as they have done. We wanted to have stopped the match, to have stopped the game, but it's very difficult when you have such a powerful opponent. But in any case, I'd like to finish every game like this".