Yamal sends two-word message to Rabiot as his words come back to haunt him

Lamine Yamal had the last laugh after making Adrien Rabiot eat his words.

The 16-year-old netted a stunning strike from 25 yards to help Spain secure their spot in the Euro 2024 final with a 2-1 win over France.

Ahead of the semi-final clash, Rabiot looked to get into the head of the Barcelona wonderkid by suggesting that he would need to do more to help Spain into the final.

Speaking pre-match, Rabiot said: “We saw that he was a player who knew how to handle pressure very well.

“He has a lot of qualities. He is capable of playing with his qualities at club level as well as in major tournaments, without pressure.

“Afterwards, it is always complicated to manage a semi-final in a tournament like that, but it will be up to us to put the pressure on him above all, not to let him feel comfortable and to show him that to play in a Euro final, he will have to do much more than what he has done so far.”

In response, Yamal took to Instagram to post an image of a hand moving a chess piece along with a subtle message, reading: “Move in silence. Only speak when it’s time to say checkmate.”

The 16-year-old certainly did that with his stunning display to dump France out of the Euros, leading to what appeared to be a dig at Rabiot after the final whistle.

Looking at a TV camera, Yamal said: “Speak now, speak now,” in Spanish while gesturing with his hands.

In terms of silencing his critics, Yamal responded in the perfect way and showed that he’s firmly on the right track to become one of football’s most memorable stars.

Speaking after the game, Yamal said: “Very happy to qualify and now the most important thing remains: to take the title”.

“We were in a difficult moment because nobody expected his goal. I took it, I didn’t think and I tried to put it in where it went in and that was it. Very happy.

“My goal was to make it to my birthday here in Germany and now to enjoy it with the team.”

Yamal will turn 17 on Saturday, the day before the final.

Spain will face either England or the Netherlands – a match that’s live on talkSPORT.

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