“I'm not surprised by what Lamine Yamal is doing because he's so talented”

Arda Guler, the Turkey international and Real Madrid midfielder, stated ahead of facing Spain in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, that he is not surprised by the performance of Lamine Yamal because "he has a lot of talent", but warned that his nation also possesses quality and that they will play with "great confidence" in Konya.

"I'm not surprised by what Lamine Yamal is doing because he has a lot of talent. He will do his best to put us in difficulty, but we also have a lot of potential and we are going to play with a lot of confidence," he said in the official press conference on the eve of the clash against the Spanish national team.

Guler acknowledged that he has spoken with Dani Carvajal and Dean Huijsen, teammates at Real Madrid, about the match in Turkey and is confident of returning to the Spanish capital as the victor.

"We have spoken about the match with my Real Madrid teammates, and they know that the match is going to be very complicated. I want to return to training with Madrid as the winner,” he declared.

“It is a key match because both nations are competing for first place. Spain will certainly have more possession, but we will press and try to impose our game. We have a lot of respect for the Spanish national team, they have gone a long time without losing, but we know what we have to do,” said the 20-year-old, who is already the leader of his nation.