Spain in the EM final

Spain in the EM final: 16-year-old Yamal

becomes the youngest EM goalkeeper.

10/7/2024,

In a busy semi-final, Spain's national team managed to beat France, thus qualifying for the EM final on Sunday.

The most impressive scene was made by the only 16-year-old, Lamine Yamal. It's called self-confidence. While other coaches often keep a big secret about their rankings until the end, Luis de la Fuente went another way.

Two hours before the semi-finals, his initial formation was known. This self-confidence reflected on his team in the EM semi-finals as well as on the field.

In the end, after a 2:1 (2:1) victory, the Spaniards celebrated their entry into the final on Sunday (21:00),

while the French star team behind Kylian Mbappé must leave early, as it did in 2021. France seizes the first goal chance for leadership strikers The Spaniards should have been at the forefront after a short time.

Fabian, four metres away, placed the leather on his head above the gate while being accompanied by young Lamine Yamal (5.).

France would have had to give up its defensive posture if it had taken the lead earlier. The squad led by Didier Deschamps kept up its counterattack strategy.

The French supporters celebrated the first serious attack. For a little while, "Les Bleus," who had not yet scored a goal in the competition, gave hope that the so-far lacklustre star-storm could perform better. This time, superstar Kylian Mbappé took on the role of preparation.

His butter-soft flank from the stand was completed by the hard-working ex-Frankfurter Randal Kolo Muani to lead the vice-world champion.

There, the newly formed Spanish defence, in which the yellow-closed defenders Daniel Carvajal and Robin Le Normand were missing, seemed abundantly unsorted (9.).

16-year-old Yamal shoots himself into the record books. But the Iberians still have their miracles. When Yamal was not attacked, the 16-year-old with a fine inner rib effect withdrew from almost 20 meters.

Unreachable for goalkeeper Mike Maignan, the ball flew from the inside post into the net (21.). And it was even better for the team from de la Fuente.

The French defence did not bring the ball out of the danger zone a few minutes later. Leipziger Dani Olmo chased the leather so sharply inside that Jules Koundé's rescue attempt ended in his own goal (25): 2:1.

After the draw, the Furia Roja had turned the game cold with a double stroke. And, unlike in the quarterfinals, when you retired after the lead against the German Elf, this time you did not leave behind in the attempt to create offensive actions.

Because France had to open and show more than in previous tournament games, a varied game developed during this phase. Mbappé is hardly dangerous. A rescue stand from Maignan far in front of the goal against Nico Williams caused the first ruin on the ranks after the side change.

One problem with France: Mbappé barely threatened the goal. His attempt in the final phase, when he had a good shot chance after a counter, flew over the goal, so that most of his team's attacks went over the right side for a long time. At least for a flitter who wanted to take a selfie with him, the future real invader was still high in the course (59.).

France insisted, but ex-Dortmunder Ousmane Dembelé failed from a difficult angle to Simon (60.). The Spanish defence, however, had long been trapped and was now very compact.

It was rarely really brilliant because Mbappé & Co. lacked the ideas for building the game. Left defender Theo still had the best chance but chased the ball far over the goal (76.).

On the other side, it went even less. The Spanish offensive now carried out hardly any significant relief attacks except for a further shot from Yamal (81.). Yamal was the most striking player before the Spanish finally celebrated the final.