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Lamine Yamal posed with Messi as an infant. Now he’s almost 17 and a hero for Spain

Lamine Yamal is used to being the youngest.

He was the youngest player to start for Barcelona (16 years, 38 days).

He was the youngest player to score in a La Liga game (16 years, 87 days).

He became the youngest player to start at a men’s European Championship (16 years, 343 days) when Spain opened this year’s tournament against Croatia on June 15.

And on Tuesday, four days before his 17th birthday, Yamal became the youngest player to score at a major tournament when he curled the ball into the top left corner of the net during Spain’s 2-1 win over France in the Euro 2024 semifinals.