Yan Diomande displays full potential ahead of FIFA World Cup date with Germany
During RB Leipzig's 6-0 hammering of Eintracht Frankfurt, Yan Diomande sent a warning to his teammates ahead of the Ivory Coast's FIFA World Cup group stage encounter with Germany. His hat-trick against the Eagles showed how dangerous he could be for Julian Nagelsmann's side.
Anyone lucky enough to watch Diomande in recent weeks will know that not only does his name sound like a jewel, but he is also playing like one.
After two games without a goal, the young diamond made up for his mini-drought with a dominant display, becoming the second-youngest hat-trick scorer in Bundesliga history at the age of just 19 years and 22 days.
Watch: RB Leipzig 6-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
All in all, Leipzig found the back of the net on six occasions, despite the statistics suggesting they should have only managed four goals (3.74 xGoals).
The fact that the Saxony outfit significantly outperformed that number was mainly down to their wing prodigy. Diomande's three shots on target had an xG value of one, but he found the back of the net every time.
"We played a great game against Frankfurt. For me, the most important thing was that we won. That is great for the team," he said after Saturday's memorable display, which will certainly have given Nagelsmann plenty to think about.
Watch: The best of Yan Diomande
Diomande is already an important part of the Ivory Coast side - he scored in both of his country's final two World Cup qualifiers - and is therefore very likely to be in the squad for next summer's showpiece. Friday's draw threw up a special game, with the Elephants playing Germany in Toronto on 20 June.
"It will be a great game - Germany are one of the strongest teams at international level on the planet," Diomande said about the upcoming encounter. "I have three friends in the Germany team: Assan Ouédraogo, David Raum and Ridle Baku. It will be a difficult game, and David will have to be ready for me. I have already told him that."
If Diomande plays on the right like he did against Frankfurt, he could indeed come directly up against Raum. On the other flank, either Joshua Kimmich or Baku will be his opponent.
If his current trajectory is anything to go by, he could prove a real handful against the four-time World Cup winners next summer.
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