Lamine Yamal was unable to leave Turkey with his Spain teammates after starring in La Roja’s 6-0 World Cup qualifying trouncing on Sunday night.
The European champions put on a dominant display at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, with Arsenal’s Mikel Merino netting a hat-trick, Pedri adding two goals, and Barcelona forward Ferran Torres also getting on the scoresheet.
Although Yamal didn’t score, he contributed with two assists. The youngster also had a minor clash with Real Madrid’s Arda Güler, who shoved him during the second half.
While the 18-year-old seemed cheerful on the pitch, his mood soured afterwards when he realized he had misplaced his passport.
Turkish outlet Beyaz Futbol captured footage of a visibly worried Lamine Yamal, dressed in casual clothes and headphones, searching the team bus for his missing passport before heading back into the dressing room to check again.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or nominee was later spotted rummaging through his suitcase in a car park with staff members, but reports suggested he left the stadium without the crucial document.
Journalist Emir provided an update on X, writing:
“Lamine Yamal lost his passport. After the match, he searched for it for a long time, returned to the locker room, and looked there as well. He left the stadium without finding it.”
According to Turkiye Today, the Spanish Football Federation quickly reached out to Turkish officials, who coordinated with local police to resolve the matter.
The situation was eventually settled, with Yamal flying home separately on a private jet. He is now expected to rejoin Barcelona training ahead of Sunday’s home fixture against Valencia.
By contrast, England internationals—such as Yamal’s teammate Marcus Rashford—typically hand their passports to FA staff upon arrival for international duty, only retrieving them when necessary.
Yamal has often drawn comparisons with Barcelona legend Lionel Messi — and, like the Argentine great, he has also faced passport-related mishaps.
Back in 2023, Messi was held up at Beijing airport after presenting his Spanish passport instead of his Argentine one. Reports claimed he had to wait around two hours under police supervision before being granted a fast-tracked visa, which allowed him to enter China for a friendly match against Australia.
