Spain’s teenage sensation, Lamine Yamal, has equalled a remarkable FIFA World Cup record set by Nigerian football legend Jay-Jay Okocha 28 years ago, underlining his growing influence at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
According to ESPN statistics, the FC Barcelona winger is averaging 12 successful dribbles every 90 minutes during the tournament. The feat represents the highest dribble rate recorded by any player to have played more than 200 minutes at a single World Cup since Okocha achieved the same mark during Nigeria’s memorable campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
Okocha featured in all three of Nigeria’s group-stage matches at the 1998 tournament and played a key role in one of the country’s greatest World Cup moments. The Super Eagles stunned Spain 3-2 in Nantes after coming from behind before defeating Bulgaria 1-0 to qualify for the knockout stage. Nigeria’s campaign eventually ended in the Round of 16 following a 4-1 defeat to Denmark.
The former Super Eagles captain produced one of the finest individual performances by a Nigerian at the World Cup against Spain. He completed nine successful dribbles, created two scoring opportunities, and delivered three crosses as goals from Mutiu Adepoju, an own goal by Andoni Zubizarreta, and a stunning long-range strike from Sunday Oliseh secured a famous victory.
In recognition of that historic display, FIFA presented Okocha with a retrospective Player of the Match award in June 2026, 28 years after the encounter.
Okocha also holds another outstanding World Cup record. During the 1994 tournament in the United States, he completed 15 successful dribbles against Italy—the highest number ever recorded by a player in a single World Cup match.
Meanwhile, Yamal has continued to make history at the ongoing tournament. Spain have won all eight major international tournament matches he has started, giving the teenager a perfect 100 per cent winning record—the best by any European player in a FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship starting lineup.
The young forward also etched his name into the record books alongside Pau Cubarsí by becoming the first pair of teenage teammates to start a World Cup knockout match for any nation since Pelé and Antonio Altafini achieved the feat for Brazil in 1958.
Having fully recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained while playing for Barcelona in April, Yamal has emerged as one of the standout performers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He played a crucial role as Spain comfortably eliminated Austria in the Round of 32 and will now look to inspire his side when they face Portugal in their next World Cup fixture.
Emmanuel Ukaoha is a web developer, Blogger, and SEO expert from Nigeria. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Renaissance University, Enugu State, with Second Class Honors.