They are two friends who never stop challenging each other all the time. They are competitive and so they are getting better every day. Lamine Yamal (16 years old) and Nico Williams (21 years old) played for a bottle of water after qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Euro Cup. “We played all ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’. He asked me for the bottle and we always drew lots,” the Athletic winger explained at the end of the game against Georgia, where he provided one assist and scored a great goal, his first in a Euro Cup. A goal he celebrated by dancing with his partner to the rhythm of the Brazilian song ‘Tchu, Tcha, Tcha’, by Flavel&Neto. A dance, yes, with no intention of insulting anyone because they keep playing for fun, wherever they are. “I try to go out with a lot of enthusiasm, I don’t think about the impact it may have. I play as I know how,” insisted Lamine.
Later, Nico Williams was all smiles in the mixed zone of the Cologne stadium. “This week he has to put up with me because he can’t score,” he commented about his friend Lamine. “I hope in the next game he can keep me calm. We challenge each other and we complement each other very well. I hope he does very well and so do I,” said the forward from Pamplona, who acting as Lamine’s older brother by choice. Although the Barcelona teenager has not been silent. “It’s a bit heavy, I already told him not to start…”, Lamine revealed in the corridors leading to the bus. “But I’m very happy for him,” he added.
Nico shined at the end of the round of 16. He was with his whole family and part of his Bilbao crew in the audience. Iñaki, his mentor and older brother, was also there, waiting to see him in Dusseldorf because De la Fuente had reserved him against Albania. “I feel so much joy. Especially for my parents, my friends, my family and my brother who were in the stands there supporting me. This is for them. I want to continue like this to help Spain reach the final,” said Williams Jr. who admits that he is fulfilling yet another professional dream. “Every child wants to play with the national team and score a goal in the Euro Cup. I managed to achieve this and I hope I can continue in this line.”
Nico keeps his feet on the ground, flying low as he says despite the praise he received after the Spanish victory. “I don’t know who is the best player in the tournament, but I don’t know. I continue with the same humility that brought me this far. This is the path and if I continue like this who knows, but now I don’t think. “
Now Germany awaits the quarterfinals. Spain is up to the challenge and these two friends, Lamine and Nico, want to go on to stardom. They believe in their possibilities and maintain that audacity that makes them self-aware. “I don’t see any team superior to us. We will go with everything. They are quarterfinals, whatever team it was we would come out with great enthusiasm,” Yamal stressed. The Barça striker recalled that “the goal from day one was always to win (the Euro Cup). And that’s why we’re all together.”
Nico recognized the toughness of the rival. “It will be a very difficult game, with great intensity. They have differential players in the front and in the middle of the field.” But La Roja retains the self-confidence that has brought him this far. “We will have to do things well, a game like today, with this intensity and the team we are, we can do anything,” Nico recalled.
For now, this week they will continue to challenge each other on everything, for any prank. ‘Rock paper scissors’. Until Friday. There they will reunite on the field, in the same team, where they complement each other perfectly.
Source: La Verdad

I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.