Yamal Faces Unexpected Criticism Despite Outshining Mbappé in Spain's World Cup Semi-Final Win Over France

Spain produced a composed display to end France's World Cup dream, securing a 2-0 victory in the semi-finals. The win sets the stage for a blockbuster final against either Argentina or England. Despite Spain's dominant win, it's Lamine Yamal who's seemingly dominating the headlines and social media trends.

Ahead of the match, all eyes were already on Yamal's head-to-head showdown with France superstar Kylian Mbappé. Fans picked up where they left off after the game with some criticising Yamal despite his remarkable success.

Not Everyone Likes Yamal

While Spain celebrated another major final appearance, attention quickly shifted to Yamal, whose rise has become one of football's biggest stories. Although the Barcelona winger played his part in Spain's victory with his movement, creativity and relentless work off the ball, some World Cup fans questioned the scale of the praise directed at him.

Critics on social media argued that Spain's success was built on a collective performance rather than the brilliance of one individual. They argue that Yamal did not carry his country and his teammates deserved equal recognition for controlling the match.

'I mean he didnt do anything to get them there so idk why his faze matters,' one fan commented.

'This dude didn't do anything I don't get why he gets all the praise for how good his teammates have been playing,' another fan remarked.

'Bro somehow gets attention though he doesn't do any better than his teammates,' someone said.

Others, meanwhile, defended Yamal, pointing to his consistent influence throughout the tournament and his ability to impact games despite his age. They acknowledged that the teenage football star is on the verge of reaching higher heights.

'Lamine is slowly getting into form. He looked out of rhythm at the start of World Cup but now he looks so sharp and convincing!,' a fan assessed.

'Lamine the new nightmare...,' another fan declared.

Mbappé Questions France's Tactics

On the other hand, Mbappé admitted after the match that his side were second best both tactically and technically, suggesting Spain's midfield superiority proved decisive.

'We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that's hard,' Mbappé said. 'Fabian [Ruiz] and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us.'

The Real Madrid forward also acknowledged that France never managed to disrupt Spain's rhythm.

'We didn't play the game we wanted, technically, tactically,' he confided. 'When you don't do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don't win. Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does. They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm.'

'Because they are better than us at controlling a game. We didn't manage to do it. We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have.'

Spain now stand one victory away from adding another World Cup title to their growing list of achievements.