BERLIN: Spain forward Lamine Yamal became the first 16-year-old to play at a men's European Championship as he started Saturday's Euro 2024 group match against Croatia. The Barcelona teenager was making his eighth appearance for Spain, despite only being 16 years and 338 days old. Yamal became Spain's youngest player and goalscorer on his debut against Georgia in a Euro 2024 qualifier last September.
He has already played 51 times for Barcelona, scoring seven goals, after becoming their youngest player at the age of 15 in April 2023.
Among his records, he has become the youngest La Liga goalscorer and youngest player to start a Champions League game. He broke the European Championship youngest player record by about nine months.
Yamal revealed recently that he would be doing school homework while at the Euros in Germany.
The previous record holder was Poland's Kacper Kozlowski, who was 17 years and 246 days when he played against Spain at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament.
England's Jude Bellingham briefly had the record aged 17 years and 349 days when he faced Croatia at Euro 2020, before Kozlowski, who is now a Brighton player, broke it six days later.