Lucas Digne is bracing himself for another duel with Lamine Yamal when Paris Saint-Germain host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday at the Parc des Princes. Nuno Mendes is injured and will miss the game, which thrusts Digne forward as the likely man to fill the gap on the Parisian left.
Their last meeting is hard to forget. In the World Cup semi-final between Spain and France, Yamal won a penalty with a smart bit of pressing on Digne inside the box, a moment that swung the game and handed Spain an early lead.
Twenty minutes in, with the game goalless, Yamal closed down the French full-back as he tried to clear a high ball. Digne caught the Spaniard’s left thigh. Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed to the spot and VAR backed him up.
Mikel Oyarzabal tucked away the penalty to put Spain in front, and they went on to win and book their place in the final. Didier Deschamps hauled Digne off with 20 minutes left.
Digne, 33, took to social media afterwards to vent his frustration, admitting he felt he had let himself and his team-mates down, while insisting he was proud to have represented his country and thanking the fans who had followed France throughout the run.
Digne said: “The hardest part is finding the words to express this huge disappointment. I feel a great deal of disappointment in myself first and foremost, and in this team and all the effort we put in, and in this wonderful group of players.”
His message went on to acknowledge everyone involved in the journey, along with the supporters who had backed the team from France and across the world. Bitter as the exit was, he said, pulling on the shirt still made him proud.
Yamal was crowned world champion with Spain days later. Now Digne gets another crack at the teenager, this time in a PSG shirt and a European tie that will stir memories of the last one, even if the stakes at club level are a different beast entirely.