SPAIN boss Luis de la Fuente has explained why he took Lamine Yamal off in extra-time after La Roja lost the Nations League final on penalties to Portugal.
Yamal was replaced by Yeremy Pino and didn’t look to thrilled at his manager’s decision to take him off.
De la Fuente was quizzed afterwards about his decision and says Yamal was tired and his team needed more energy.
“We wanted to give the game a bit more energy,” he explained.
“The introduction of Yeremy Pino and Alex Baena gave us that energy, that control of the game that we had lost, as well as our finishing and shooting.
“He is tired because he has been competing since Thursday, there has been little rest. He has had a very difficult year. He is 17 years old and we have to behave accordingly.
“Today, we understood that it was time to replace him to give another player the opportunity to come in, so that he brings a little more energy.”
Sunday’s match was Yamal’s final game of a long and impressive season.
He will now get to take a break and recharge his batteries before reporting for pre-season with Barca.
