England midfielder Declan Rice has admitted that there was "no way" he could have envisioned achieving the feats of 16-year-old Spain winger Lamine Yamal when he was his age.
The £105m Arsenal man will come face-to-face with Barcelona's latest wonderkid in Sunday's Euro 2024 final in Berlin, by which point Yamal would have celebrated his 17th birthday.
The 2007-born phenom - who turns 17 on Saturday - has already etched his name into Euros folklore, breaking records left, right and centre in his major tournament debut for his country.
Even before jetting off to the Euros, Yamal broke the record for the youngest player to play and score for the Spain men's team, while also becoming the youngest man to feature for Barcelona in over 100 years.
Now, the teenager can boast the honour of being the youngest man to both play and score at a European Championship, achieving the latter feat in Tuesday's semi-final win over France by curling home a stunning equaliser.
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Rice: 'Yamal is on another level'
Yamal has also provided three assists at the tournament - becoming the first teenager to set up three goals in one edition of the men's Euros - and he is expected to keep his place on the right wing for the showpiece match this weekend.
Speaking to the media ahead of the trip to Berlin, Rice did not hold back in his praise for the Barcelona starlet, claiming that there was "no way" he would have been ready for regular first-team action at 16.
"I was trying to get a scholarship when I was 16. And here, you've got Yamal putting one in the top bins. At 16, what he is doing is on another level as there is no way I was ready at 16," the ex-West Ham United man said.
Yamal will not be the only teenager stepping foot onto the Olympiastadion turf for Sunday's final, though, as Rice is expected to be partnered by 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo in the England engine room.
After neither Trent Alexander-Arnold nor Conor Gallagher managed to nail down a place in the England midfield, Mainoo took his chance with both hands and became the youngest Englishman to start a major tournament semi-final in the beating of the Dutch.
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Rice reveals what he 'loves' about Mainoo
The Manchester United starlet has justified his inclusions in Southgate's first XI throughout the knockout rounds and almost registered an assist for Phil Foden in midweek, only for the latter's shot to be stopped on the line by Denzel Dumfries.
Talking up the 19-year-old, Rice reflected on an incident where Mainoo sold him short with a pass before the pair briefly came to verbal blows, an incident which the Arsenal man believes is a testament to his character.
"We have become a nice partnership. What I like about him is that he is not scared to say it how it is. When he gave me a pass between the lines and I got sold short for it, we had to sprint back and we had a bit (of a go) at each other," Rice added.
"But that is good because you need that relationship and at 19 I can't imagine many saying that to older players. That's what I love about him, that is what the lads love about him. He gets that respect, he has that leadership."
While England are still waiting to win their maiden Euros crown as a senior men's team, Spain boast a joint-high three triumphs at the continent's premier tournament and could now become the first European nation in history to win four successive major competition finals, having prevailed at Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
Ben Knapton
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