When Lamine Yamal became just the fourth teenager to win the FIFA World Cup, debates about his place among the greats of the game intensified. A former USWNT icon and captain had a different view on Yamal and his not-so-good contributions at the World Cup.

Carli Lloyd was locked in a war of words with a user on X a couple of weeks ago. Lloyd defended her stance on Yamal not proving himself on the big stage to earn comparisons with the greats on July 8. A fan waited for two weeks and quoted Lloyd’s post, claiming that Yamal won the World Cup at just nineteen years of age.

Carlo Lloyd then launched another volley of defense. “And? Doesn’t mean he individually had a good tournament,” she wrote on X.

Her views were based on the fact that Lamine Yamal had just one goal at the World Cup in almost 615 minutes of soccer across eight games. After being reduced to a cameo appearance against Cape Verde, he scored early against Saudi Arabia in a 4-0 rout. Despite having a couple of player-of-the-match performances in the knockouts, he did not get a goal or an assist further.

Those might not be good numbers in the final third at the World Cup for a world-class player of Lamine Yamal’s caliber. Kylian Mbappe, the last teenager to win the World Cup in 2018, scored four goals, including a crucial goal in the final. Pele, the first-ever teenager to win the World Cup, scored an iconic brace in the final of the 1958 World Cup against Sweden.

However, the modern game has evolved, and it can not be viewed strictly within the confines of goals and assists. Having led Spain to the European Championship in 2024 at just 17, with a goal and four assists, he is a difference-maker.

This led to opposition teams often doubling up or even tripling up on Lamine Yamal. He occupied and dragged defenders out of position to let the team flow and have space for other attackers. Even in the World Cup final against Argentina, Yamal took the most shots and completed the most dribbles with five, and created a big chance.

These numbers are often not reflected in the goals or assists columns and could certainly be overlooked in favor of the flashier ones like the Mbappes and Peles.

When Lamine Yamal won the final against Lionel Messi, it felt like a passing-of-the-torch moment in soccer. However, with Lloyd still unconvinced, it is clear that he has yet to win over everyone in the world. A World Cup trophy doesn’t essentially guarentee that, and Messi knows it all too well.

The Spain star, who will turn 20 soon, has accomplished enough as a teenager and will be keen to conquer more peaks and win more hearts with his performances on the pitch.