Plenty of names were thrown into the conversation about who is the best player in the world heading into the 2026 World Cup, with several of the usual stars catching the eye and forcing their way into discussions.
Performances from the usual suspects in the group stage from players like Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Vinicius Junior have the debate among pundits as alive as ever over who is truly setting the tournament apart.
One man who certainly isn't shying away from giving his verdict is former Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he has been left in no doubt after watching a teenager over the course of the last few years.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Believes Lamine Yamal is the Best
Lamine Yamal celebrates for SpainHeiko Becker Via Reuters
That player is Lamine Yamal, who wasted little time announcing himself on the biggest stage. The Barcelona winger needed just 10 minutes to open the scoring in Spain's 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, becoming the eighth-youngest player to score at a World Cup.
Having already dealt with fitness concerns heading into the tournament and only managing 19 minutes in Spain’s 0-0 draw with Cape Verde, Yamal's 45-minute display against the Saudis was enough to convince Ibrahimovic that he's watching the best player on the planet.
"I believe he’s the best player in the world; he’s a special player for special moments."
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Why Zlatan Rates Lamine Yamal So Highly
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Ibrahimovic, never shy about sharing strong opinions, be that as a player or a pundit, explained exactly what sets Yamal apart from his rivals in this conversation, right before his opener in his first World Cup start.
"If they can get him on the ball, he challenges every time he gets the ball, it doesn’t matter if he has one, two, three in front of him, he will challenge, he will create, and that is what Spain needs. That’s what they missed in the first game.”
It's not the first time the Swede has gone out of his way to praise the teenager, either. Before the tournament, Ibrahimovic had already flagged Yamal as the player he was most desperate to watch.
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With backing like that from one of football's best-ever strikers, the rest of the world may need to start catching up to Zlatan's verdict.
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