Burglars target Lamine Yamal's home hours after Spain reach World Cup final

Two masked individuals attempted to break into Lamine Yamal’s home in the early hours of Wednesday morning, hours after the Barcelona forward helped Spain defeat France 2-0 in their World Cup semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday, according to Catalan outlet La Vanguardia.

The individuals were spotted perched on a wall of the property by private security guards, who challenged them and caused them to flee before notifying local police. The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has been contacted for comment.

Yamal, 19, played the full 90 minutes against France and was central to Spain’s victory. He won the opening penalty in the first half after being fouled by Lucas Digne, with Mikel Oyarzabal converting the spot-kick. Yamal also had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half.

The result sends Spain into Sunday’s final, where they will face either England or Argentina. It is only the second time Spain have reached a World Cup final — their first came in 2010, when they beat the Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg. Prior to this tournament, they had not won a knockout match at a World Cup since that triumph.

Spain have now eliminated Austria, Portugal, Belgium and France in successive knockout rounds, and enter the final as strong favourites on the back of their performances.

Yamal has started all seven of Spain’s matches this summer despite arriving at the tournament carrying a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the final weeks of the La Liga season with Barcelona. He scored in a 4-0 group-stage win over Saudi Arabia but has not found the net since, though he has remained one of Spain’s most influential players throughout.

Having already won Euro 2024 with Spain — just one day after turning 17 — Yamal now has the opportunity to add a World Cup winners’ medal at the age of 19.