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Lamine Yamal made history by becoming the youngest player to score at the men’s European Championship as Spain beat France 2-1 to reach the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
France took the lead within 10 minutes when Randal Kolo Muani headed in Kylian Mbappe’s cross, but Spain soon equalized thanks to a superb long-range effort from 16-year-old Yamal.
Dani Olmo then scored a brilliant effort with less than five minutes to go to give Spain the lead and it was an advantage. La Rosa Defended staunchly until the full-time whistle.
Tuesday’s win also means Spain became the first team to win six consecutive matches in the same European Championship tournament.
Luis de la Fuente’s side will now face either the Netherlands or England in the final, which will be played on Wednesday as Spain look for a fourth Euro title.
Yamal, who won the man of the match award for his performance, celebrated his 17th birthday the day before the final and said his “goal” was still to be in Germany for the occasion.
“We were behind by a goal and I got the ball, I didn’t think much about it and then shot towards the goal,” he said, according to AFP.
“We are very, very close. (We) are with great joy. This team is incredible. we deserve it. One step away from glory.”
Some people had picked Spain to win the tournament, but La Rosa They are clearly the best team at Euro 2024 and have already dispatched hosts Germany after extra time in the quarter-finals.
The pace and trickery of Yamal and Athletic Bilbao’s 21-year-old winger Nico Williams has been a highlight of Spain’s tournament – Rodri’s control in midfield is another – and the pair of young forwards will undoubtedly continue to play a key role. national team in the coming years.
In contrast, France have struggled for form in the tournament, which has affected many of the so-called big teams.
Les Blues He had not scored a single goal from open play throughout the tournament, relying on his own goals and Mbappé’s penalties to reach the semi-finals. Mbappe has obviously not been at his best after suffering a broken nose in France’s opening group game against Austria.
It was a hot start in Munich and Spain should have taken the lead within five minutes.
Yamal, playing on the right, cut in on his left foot and hit a superb cross into the box, something that has become a feature of the youth tournament.
His delivery was inch-perfect on the head of Fabian Ruiz, but the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder went completely unmarked at the far post when he put his effort over the crossbar.
It was a mistake Ruiz regretted almost immediately as France were in the lead three minutes later.
Mbappé, who was ultimately playing without a mask, delivered a cross towards the far post and Kolo Muani brilliantly found space to beat defender Aymeric Laporte and pass the ball to the routed Unai Simeone.
Spain seemed nervous and struggled to hold off French counter-attacks. Jesus Navas, 38, deputizing for the suspended Dani Carvajal at right back, was having a particularly tough time against Mbappé.
But then the game changed in the blink of an eye, thanks to teen sensation Yamal.
Suddenly, the schoolboy who had promised his teachers before the tournament that he would keep doing his homework in Germany, Cut in on his left foot 25 yards from goal and fired a brilliant effort wide of the post.
France goalkeeper Mike Maignan has enjoyed an impressive tournament Les Blues But there was no chance to save Yamal’s arcing shot.
It is difficult to understand how someone so young can have so much confidence and self-belief to not only think about taking that shot but also execute it to perfection on the biggest stage.
That goal breathed new life into Spain and less than five minutes later de la Fuente’s team were ahead.
After Navas’s cross into the box was blocked, Olmo took two excellent touches to get the ball under control and away from Aurelien Tchoumeni, before firing a deflected effort past the helpless Maignan.
Spain responded brilliantly to the initial pressure exerted by France. It was now up to France coach Didier Deschamps to find a way back for his team.
Just after the hour mark, Deschamps rolled the dice. Adrien Rabiot, N’Golo Kante and goalscorer Kolo Muani came off, replaced by Bradley Barcola, Eduardo Camavinga and the experienced Antoine Griezmann.
However, clear cut opportunities were few and far between, as the French struggled to break the strong Spanish defence.
After a promising first half, Mbappé was particularly disappointing in the second half. In the final few minutes, when he was well placed inside the box, an errant shot ended up going over the stands, indicating a disappointing evening for the new Real Madrid star.