Lamine Yamal, 16, became the tournament’s youngest-ever goalscorer as Spain came back to defeat France 2-1 in Munich on Tuesday, securing a spot in the Euro 2024 final.
Trailing after Randal Kolo Muani headed in a Kylian Mbappe cross in the ninth minute, Spain turned the match around with two goals in a four-minute period. Yamal, who turns 17 a day before Sunday’s final against either the Netherlands or England in Berlin, equalized with a superb strike from outside the box, curling a long-range effort into the top corner past the fingertips of an airborne Mike Maignan.
Spain took the lead in the 25th minute when Dani Olmo expertly gathered a loose ball and fired a low shot into the net with the aid of a deflection off Jules Kounde. Mastering midfield game management, Spain controlled the match by frequently holding possession rather than attacking on the counter, securing the win.
Three-time champions Spain became the first team to win six games at a Euros and are now one game away from a record-breaking fourth crown.
Despite being finalists in three of the past four major tournaments, questions arise about how France failed to click up front despite having enviable attacking talent. France had only scored three goals heading into the match, none by a French player from open play. In response, coach Didier Deschamps benched forward Antoine Griezmann for Ousmane Dembele.
Yamal created the first chance of the match four minutes in, lofting a curling cross to an unmarked Fabian Ruiz, who headed over from point-blank range. Four minutes later, Mbappe skated down the left flank and sent in a similar cross, but Kolo Muani’s header found the target to give France the lead.
Pre-match doubts focused on Spain veterans Jesus Navas, 38, and Nacho, 34, who replaced suspended duo Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand, but it was the younger Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella who were at fault for Kolo Muani’s opener.
France’s goal seemed to deflate Spain, but Yamal produced a piece of sublime brilliance to level the scores. Collecting the ball well outside the box, Yamal cut inside, took one look at the goal, and unleashed a perfect curling strike into the top left corner.
Yamal’s goal, which made him the youngest scorer in Euro history and added to his three assists in the tournament, came 13 minutes after France’s opener and ignited Spain’s attack.
Just four minutes later, La Roja took the lead through Dani Olmo. Olmo leapt acrobatically to collect a cleared cross, shed a defender, and smashed a shot goalwards, which deflected off Jules Kounde before bouncing into the net.
France had their best chance to force extra time with five minutes remaining when captain Kylian Mbappe blasted a shot well over the bar with only goalkeeper Unai Simon to beat.
