Watching Belgium-France made Spain’s treatment of Lamine Yamal look even more absurd. Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans weren’t even in Belgium’s squad. Cherki, Olise and Doué started on the bench for France. Portugal have rotated Bruno Fernandes and João Félix. Even Rodri has been rested by Spain. So why is Lamine Yamal starting all four international matches? He’s 19, already carrying a huge workload for Barcelona, and he’s returning to La Liga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup football as one of Barcelona’s most important players. Nobody is saying De la Fuente shouldn’t use Yamal. But he can start on the bench and come on as an impact player. Víctor Muñoz, Yeremy Pino and Fermín López are there. We’ve seen what excessive workloads and injuries can do to extraordinary talents. Neymar is the obvious reminder. Yamal isn’t a robot. He’s one of the most entertaining players football has given us, and we need to protect him before his body forces us to.

Ronaldo has already apologized to his teammates and the Portuguese fans, so he definitely owes nobody else any freaking apology

ESPN really needs to do better with Cristiano Ronaldo. A few hours ago, ESPN reported that Ronaldo was definitely retiring from the Portuguese national team, claiming it came from reliable sources. I was about to respond immediately, but decided to wait. Now Ronaldo has confirmed that he is NOT retiring. The bigger issue is that ESPN is a massive football institution, yet they were willing to push such a major story without apparently getting the facts right. And this is especially frustrating because ESPN has a long history of heavily amplifying Lionel Messi while often finding ways to diminish Cristiano Ronaldo and his achievements. I have no problem with ESPN praising Messi. He is one of the greatest players ever. But journalism should not become a popularity contest or fan-war narrative. Millions of people see these posts. With that kind of influence comes responsibility. Verify the information before posting it. Ronaldo is criticised enough without major football media adding fuel to the fire with stories that turn out to be completely wrong.

Zidane might actually be the manager who finally unlocks Eduardo Camavinga’s true potential. The Camavinga I’ve watched for France under Zidane looks completely different from the player I’ve seen at Real Madrid for years. I’ve been a major critic of Camavinga and Tchouaméni, but these France performances have genuinely changed my perspective. It shows that with the right system, role and manager, Camavinga can be a top, top player. Real Madrid clearly saw the potential when they signed him from Rennes. Now I’m very interested to see how Mourinho uses him when he returns. If Camavinga goes back to Madrid and becomes a shadow of this player again, then we have to seriously question whether the system is the problem.

My analysis of the Michael Olise vs Lamine Yamal debate remains the same. Yamal is slightly more efficient and can be more of a force of nature, which is why he tends to impact games earlier. Olise, on the other hand, prefers to read the game before imposing his quality. But in terms of PURE QUALITY? They’re on the same level. And the age argument doesn’t change that. Not every player peaks as early as Yamal. Right now, the difference isn’t quality. It’s efficiency. Yamal is more consistently explosive. Olise reads the game better and then lets his quality take over. That’s it.

Zidane takes Bradley Barcola off and France immediately get the equaliser. You genuinely couldn’t write it. Désiré Doué is simply a better big-game player for me. When the pressure is highest, you need players who can produce that moment of brilliance, and Doué has shown that quality. France have been pushing for this equaliser, pressing and creating pressure, and they’ve finally got their reward. There’s still enough time for them to find the winner too. Take off Barcola, score a goal. It really is that simple.