Yamal swaps shirt with Perišić during Nations League match

Lamine Yamal shone on Tuesday evening in the shirt of Spain during the Nations League‑match against Croatia, where he scored two goals and provided one assist. At halftime he swapped shirts with opponent Ivan Perišić, who later recorded an assist for Spain.

Yamal's brilliant performance

Yamal's two goals and the assist took Spain to a convincing 4‑1 victory over Croatia. His speed and dribbling skills set the tempo of the match, while the Croatian defence struggled to stop the young striker.

Shirt swap and reactions

At halftime Perišić approached Yamal and said: ‘Normally I would wait until after the match to ask for your shirt… but I have to do it now.’ Perišić explained that he expected to see a line of fans after such a performance wanting his shirt.

Yamal later said: ‘I looked at him with a “why now?” look and he replied: “Because everyone after a performance like yours will want that shirt soon.” I had to laugh, because I hadn’t expected that at all.’

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Perišić himself said: ‘We lost today, but at least I fulfilled my oldest son’s dream: to wear Lamine Yamal’s shirt. That’s why I went to get his shirt right after the first half.’

The winger concluded: ‘Spain were better today and Lamine Yamal is a fantastic player. He deserves the Ballon d’Or; he has tormented our defenders throughout the whole match.’ He added that Croatia does not give up easily and that they will come back in the competition.

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With those words Perišić looks optimistically to the upcoming Nations League‑matches, convinced that Croatia will fight for a better position.