Spain vs Belgium: Surprise Lamine Yamal odds you should back for World Cup clash

Spain have been almost flawless at World Cup 2026 so far, winning four of their five games and not conceding a single goal.

They knocked out Portugal 1-0 in the round of 16 last time out to set up a quarter-final clash with Belgium, and will be favourites to progress to the semi-final where they will face either France or Morocco.

One player who could make the difference for Spain is teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, who carried an injury into the tournament but has seemingly recovered and is set to start for La Roja against Belgium.

He is yet to register an assist at the World Cup so far, but in this article we will explain why we are backing Yamal to make an assist at 13/5 (3.60).

Lamine Yamal's World Cup so far

As mentioned, Yamal was carrying an injury into the World Cup, which prevented him from starting Spain's opening game against Cape Verde, incidentally the only match they have dropped points in after they were held to a 0-0 draw.

Yamal has started every fixture since then, and has clearly had a positive influence on the team as La Roja have won every game.

The winger has only scored once and registered no assists so far, but a deeper dive into his performances shows he is still as dangerous as he can be.

Indeed, Yamal has completed 17 dribbles at the World Cup so far, with only Germany’s Jamal Musiala (19 in 2022) and France’s Kylian Mbappe (22 in 2018) on record completing more in a single tournament.

Of course, Yamal could easily break those records should Spain beat Belgium and progress further.

The 18-year-old has also averaged one key pass and cross per World Cup game and is fouled 0.6 times per match, ranking in the top seven for each metric in the Spanish squad.

While not having the goals and assists numbers to show for it, Yamal is still performing to a high level in the final third.

Lamine Yamal to assist vs Belgium?

Yamal's assist record for Spain is impressive, registering 12 assists in 30 senior caps across all competitions.

That is roughly an assist every 2.5 games, so perhaps he is due one!

In terms of his record at major tournaments, Yamal was highly influential in Spain winning the 2024 European Championship, recording a goal and four assists in seven appearances, with all but one assist in the knockout stage.

Given his elite ability to dribble past players and also produce a key pass, cross or win a foul in dangerous areas, we can see Yamal causing Belgium plenty of problems.

He is 13/5 (3.60) to make an assist against the Red Devils, which we feel is surprisingly overpriced and so is worth backing for those looking for a punt in the upcoming match on Friday night.