Lamine Yamal continued to demonstrate his knack for giving Spain early leads by scoring in the sixth minute against the Czech Republic in Matchday 3 of the UEFA Nations League group stage.
The goal arrived courtesy of a brilliant left-footed strike from outside the penalty box that found the top corner, offering La Roja another ideal opening before head coach Luis de la Fuente opted to rest the teenager at half-time.
According to Opta, Yamal became the first player in over eight years to score within the opening six minutes of three consecutive international appearances, continuing a run that began against England, extended against Croatia, and concluded against the Czech Republic.
The Barcelona star needed just 104 seconds to score against England at Wembley Stadium, required only 70 seconds to find the net against Croatia in Seville, and completed his early-goal streak with his sixth-minute strike against the Czechs.
Anton Zemlianukhin was the last player to achieve this feat, scoring in the opening minutes for Kyrgyzstan against Brunei, Myanmar, and India across three consecutive matches between December 2017 and March 2018.
Yamal’s impressive streak goes beyond timing alone, highlighted by the variety of his finishes: capitalizing on a defensive error through aggressive pressing against England, finishing off a fluent team move after 70 seconds against Croatia, and unleashing a sublime long-range effort against the Czech Republic.
The 19-year-old has now raised his tally in the current UEFA Nations League campaign to 4 goals and 1 assist in three matches, having scored once against England, recorded two goals and an assist against Croatia, and added another against the Czech Republic—opening the scoring for Spain in all three fixtures.
Yamal entered the match with 35 international caps and 10 goals, bringing his total to 11 goals in 36 appearances for Spain, including 5 goals across 13 matches in 2026.
His international career began with a debut goal against Georgia at 16 years and 57 days old. He subsequently claimed the UEFA Euro 2024 title, winning the tournament’s Best Young Player award with a goal and 4 assists, before lifting the 2026 FIFA World Cup while leading the tournament with 35 completed dribbles.
