Why Lamine Yamal doesn’t wear No. 10 for Spain at World Cup originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Some of the best players in world football wear the number 10. That’s what Lamine Yamal has on his jersey in his club career at FC Barcelona.
But with Spain, the 19-year old wears the No. 19.
It’s a bit of an unusual number, although it does have a fascinating overlap: Once upon a time, Messi also wore 19.
There’s a relatively simple reason for this.
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Why doesn’t Lamine Yamal wear No. 10?
The number 10 was occupied before the youngster arrived at the national team.
Dani Olmo had the 10 when Lamine Yamal got his first senior call-up, and Olmo has kept those digits for now.
Eventually, Lamine Yamal will surely get the 10 shirt if he wants it, just as Messi eventually did at all levels of his career.
In the meantime, Lamine Yamal will have to settle for wearing his age on his back.
He actually just turned 19 earlier in July, and now he’s in a World Cup Final.
The number on his back is much less important than the name, which is less important than the crest on the front.
If Lamine Yamal leads Spain to the trophy, those digits won’t matter one bit.
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