Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has some advice for Lamine Yamal, the Spain prodigy who just scored at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The 18-year-old was on target in their Group H clash with Saudi Arabia as the reigning European champions cruised to a massive 4-0 victory in Atlanta.

Racing into the box, Yamal latched onto a cross from Mikel Oyarzabal to make a sliding finish near the post to put Spain 1-0 up and score his first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Given his prodigious talents, the Spanish dynamite is often billed as a future legend who could match the records of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for club and country.

But ex-manager Frank had some advice for him when speaking about Lamine Yamal’s performance tonight on the BBC:

“These tap-in goals of Lamine Yamal, he needs to score them MUCH more if he wants to reach the highest level like Ronaldo and Messi.”

The former Spurs manager is implying that Yamal needs to score a high volume of goals to enter the same bracket as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom have netted over 900 times throughout their illustrious careers.

Their blistering exploits have seen them play an instrumental role for all their sides, guiding them to numerous trophies, while also picking up individual accolades such as the prestigious Ballon d’Or along the way.

Lamine Yamal, who is just three weeks away from turning 19, has accomplished a lot in his nascent career already. He’s won three LaLiga titles with Barcelona in addition to three more domestic cups (one Copa del Rey and two Spanish Supercups) while helping Spain win a fourth Euro Cup title in 2024.

He was awarded the LaLiga Player of the Season honor for the 2025-26 season while also finishing as the runner-up to Ousmane Dembele in last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings.

Since breaking onto the scene in 2023, Lamine Yamal has scored 49 goals and assisted 52 times for the Catalans, while netting seven times and making 12 assists for Spain’s national team too.

Lamine Yamal opens his World Cup account as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo close out theirs

With a goal today, Lamine Yamal officially opened his goalscoring account at the FIFA World Cup – a first of potentially many to come in the years ahead.

But as he looks to make his mark on the biggest stage of them all, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play their last World Cups with their respective national teams.

It marks the end of an era for two of football’s modern-day greats, while Lamine Yamal’s rise simultaneously weaves a new story, one that could emulate the outgoing legends someday.