Spain boss Luis Enrique has heaped praise on Adama Traore after an impressive debut performance in a substitute appearance in a goalless draw with Portugal on Wednesday night.
"You have already seen what he is. Pure outburst."
The tempo of the game immediately increased when Traore stepped onto the pitch, and Portuguese left-back Raphael Guerreiro had to be taken off only six minutes later. Guerreiro had to be replaced by Traore's Wolves team-mate Nelson Semedo, played out of position on the left as he was the only defender who stood a chance of matching Traore's electric pace.
"They'll have to put two or three players covering him... they have to protect themselves."
Semedo was unable to keep up with him and Portugal struggled to neutralise his attacking threat. As well as beating Semedo for pace repeatedly, Traore left Ruben Neves on the ground following a failed tackle and managed to win a corner.
Neves often was forced to track back in an attempt to outnumber Traore and cut off his passing options, which then weakened Portugal going forward as Neves' ability to contribute offensively was then limited with him positioned so deep on Portugal's left.
"That is what we want him to be, with his ability to beat opponents."
Traore produced his most impressive moment of the game in the 72nd minute, beating Semedo with a quick burst of acceleration down the right wing after coming level with the edge of the box before attacking the byline in the same way he often does for his club, moving a little more infield as he reached the line before playing a brilliant low cutback to Dani Olmo who was hovering over the penalty spot. Olmo was unlucky to not score, as Rui Patricio pulled off a perfect reflex save to deny him.
Another moment of brilliance came when Traore tried a shot from an almost impossible angle late on - having beaten everyone, he realised that he had no onside team-mates in goalscoring positions, so he attempted the shot himself, and although the ball left the pitch closer to the corner flag than the far post, the angle of the shot meant that it wasn't far off hitting the post and going in.
The confidence necessary to try something like that, as well as his other attacking contributions and his speed in tracking back (Francisco Trincao felt the full force of a Traore shoulder barge just as he was starting to go forward, and went flying) will surely have impressed Enrique. Given the quality of his performance against Portugal, Traore has surely earned himself another call-up for his national team.