(Reuters) – Lamine Yamal may have helped Spain cruise into the knockout stages of Euro 2024 but the 16-year-old has not neglected his schoolwork, with the Barcelona winger announcing that he had passed his secondary education exams.
Yamal, who broke into the Barcelona and Spain starting lineups this season, became the youngest player to appear at a European Championship when Spain beat Croatia in their group opener earlier this month.
The teenager has clearly been putting in the hard work both on and off the pitch.
“I passed the exams and I have the ESO title now,” Yamal told Spanish radio station Onda Cero.
“The last grades I’ve seen? If I’m honest, I saw them on my phone and it said I had passed so I just closed the app, called my mum and told her.”
Spain are one of the favourites after becoming the only team to win all three of their games in the group stage, where they beat defending champions Italy and Croatia.
They play Georgia in the last 16 and may face hosts Germany in the quarter-finals.
“Everything we’ve done in the group stage will be worthless if they knock us out on Sunday. We’ve already played against them (in the qualifiers), but we know it won’t be the same game,” Yamal added.
As Spain seek a record fourth Euros title, Yamal will hope they can go all the way with his 17th birthday falling on the eve of the final.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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