Spain's Lamine Yamal, 16, becomes youngest player to appear in a European Championship

BERLIN (AP) — Lamine Yamal became the youngest player ever to appear at a European Championship on Saturday when he started for Spain in its tournament-opening game against Croatia.

Yamal was 16 years, 338 days. The previous record-holder was Kacper Kozlowski of Poland, who was 17 years, 246 days in 2021 when he played against Spain.

He set up Álvaro Morata for Spain's first chance early on.

It's Yamal's eighth appearance for Spain. He played 47 games in the Spanish league and Champions League for Barcelona last season.

Yamal will turn 17 the day before the Euro 2024 final on July 14 in Berlin.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Spain's Lamine Yamal, center, challenges for the ball with Croatia's Josko Gvardiol, left, and Croatia's Marin Pongracic, right, during a Group B match between Spain and Croatia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Lamine Yamal was set to become the youngest player ever to play at a European Championship on Saturday when he was named in Spain's starting lineup for its Group B-opening game against Croatia. (AP Photo/Petr Josek)

Spain's Lamine Yamal, center, runs with the ball next to Croatia's Josko Gvardiol during to a Group B match between Spain and Croatia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Lamine Yamal, left, plays the ball during a Group B match between Spain and Croatia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Lamine Yamal was set to become the youngest player ever to play at a European Championship on Saturday when he was named in Spain's starting lineup for its Group B-opening game against Croatia. (Soeren Stache/dpa via AP)

Croatia's Mateo Kovacic, left, vies for the ball with Spain's Fabian Ruiz and Lamine Yamal, right, during a Group B match between Spain and Croatia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Spain's Lamine Yamal follows the action during a Group B match between Spain and Croatia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Five patients have recovered from a rare type of Ebola, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo’s Bunia, a city at the heart of an outbreak.

“Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the provinical capital of Ituri.

“Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,” he added.

The WHO said Friday a patient had recovered from the Bundibugyo virus, the current kind of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. It was the first documented recovery of a confirmed Bundibugyo patient during the current outbreak.

The health organization said latest official figures showed 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Neighboring Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, the Ugandan Health Ministry said Friday.

The virus continues to spread faster than the response despite better-organized health facilities and new aid arrivals, Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said Saturday, calling for the immediate expansion of testing, faster deployment of aid workers and sustained access for medical supplies.

The dangers faced by health workers have been heightened by anger among residents over the stringent medical protocols for handling the victims’ bodies, which clash with local burial rites. Residents have launched at least three attacks against health centers.

Tedros stressed the importance of involving the community in the outbreak response during the opening of the new treatment center on Sunday.

“If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get the support and recover, so the key is to come forward as early as possible and to get the necessary support," the WHO chief said.

“We can stop this Ebola and anyone who has it can also recover. But the rule ... is this thing is everybody’s business and every citizen should be involved,” he added.

Attacks in the region by the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group allied with the Islamic State group, and a coalition of ethnic militias have also hindered the response.

ADF fighters killed seven people Saturday in Beni, North Kivu province, an area also affected by the outbreak, the Congolese army and civil society groups said.

The illness also has been reported in both North Kivu and South Kivu, south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu.

“The final message we would like to share with the Ituri community is that there is hope,” Pierre Akilimali, Incident Manager at Congo's National Institute of Public Health, said during the inauguration on Sunday.

“With the symptomatic treatment that we are currently providing, we are seeing patients recover,” Akilimali added.

“We truly have hope. The virus here is not as complicated as those we have dealt with in the past, and with the support of all our partners, we believe we will be able to bring this outbreak under control as quickly as possible,” said Davin Ambitapio, another doctor at the treatment center.

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

A view of a ward at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) during a visit by the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visits the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, center right, visits the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visits health workers at the Evangelical Medical Centre (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)