Wayne Rooney has spoken glowingly of Newcastle United star Lewis Hall and how the English left-back performed against Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal. Facing the 2025 Ballon d’Or runner-up is one of the toughest tests for any full-back in world football.
Hall has been superb throughout the season and put in a terrific showing for the Magpies tonight (March 10th). He managed to keep Yamal relatively quiet, and it needed a last-minute penalty from the Spaniard to make his mark.
Newcastle deserved to win the game and thought they had when Harvey Barnes scored in the 86th minute. A sensational ball into the box from Jacob Ramsey was guided home by the English attacker.
All of the hosts’ hard work, including Hall’s handling of Yamal, was cruelly in vain. Malick Thiaw tripped Dani Olmo in the box, and the visitors were awarded a penalty, which was tucked away by the Blaugrana superstar.
Rooney raves about Hall
Hall spoke honestly after the game and felt his side should have been more defensive once they took the lead. Dan Burn went up for a late corner under the order of Eddie Howe.
Rooney first told Hall how well he performed on the night when speaking on Amazon Prime Sport:
“I thought you were fantastic tonight. We spoke about it before the game, the challenge you had up against Lamine Yamal and I thought you were brilliant.”
The Manchester United icon then disagreed with Hall’s analysis:
“I disagree, I think you should have gone for it because one-nil is a very good scoreline. But to go there and try to get the second goal. So I do think you should have gone for it, and sometimes you pay the price.”
Hall was as humble as ever when taking Rooney’s comments on board and his response was a testament to his character and eagerness to win. The Red Devils’ all-time top goalscorer later said that he can be “really proud” of his performance.
Hall the man for Tuchel
If Thomas Tuchel was wondering who to start at left-back at this summer’s World Cup, tonight might have made up his mind. Hall was outstanding against Yamal, outplaying the Spanish star and continuing to earn recognition as one of Europe’s best full-backs.
Hall won five of eight ground duels and his one aerial duel while also making seven recoveries. He also made five key passes and found his man with three of four long ball attempts.
The 21-year-old has been at St James’ Park since July 2024, when he arrived from Chelsea initially on loan before sealing a permanent £28m deal. Tonight was his 37th appearance of the season and he is one of the first names on Howe’s teamsheet.
