Spain moved to the title match with a 2-1 victory over France in the Munich semi-final on Tuesday, and Barcelona’s largest delegation to Euro 2024 will compete for the championship in Berlin on Sunday. 

Lamine Yamal had a memorable evening as the adolescent player from Barça took the lead as La Roja defeated the formidable French and put an end to Jules Kounde’s journey with Les Bleus in Germany. Yamal also became the youngest scorer in the history of a major event.

UP TO THIS PART

Every Spain match at Euro 2024 has been highly entertaining, and this was no different in the first half: La Roja started strong and Yamal nearly added another assist a few minutes later with a lovely cross that somehow resulted in Fabián Ruiz missing a header. That miss was made up for shortly after when Kylian Mbappé’s cross found Randal Kolo Muani at the far post for an easy header to put Les Bleus ahead in the ninth minute.

The French subsequently made the decision to back off and preserve their lead, which allowed Spain to drive forward even more and play their patient, confident high-possession, high-pressing attack style. Going behind had no effect on La Roja at all, as they used superb movement from their front four to put pressure on France in the last third and the Spanish comeback happened quickly.

And that turnaround occurred in the space of four minutes. Firstly, Spain took the lead thanks to a magnificent goal by Lamine Yamal, who scored a curler from outside the box that went in off the post and tied the score. Secondly, Dani Olmo used a few exquisite touches inside the box to fire a shot that struck Jules Kounde’s foot and entered the goal.

The remainder of the half was filled with excitement as France’s front three’s pace caused many problems for Spain whenever they broke the Spanish press, and La Roja continued to pose a threat whenever Yamal, Olmo, or Nico Williams had the ball. Even though there were only a few more goals scored, the action was occasionally thrilling and back-and-forth.

After a fantastic first half, the halftime whistle gave us all an opportunity to recover. While Lamine and Spain were 45 minutes away from winning the championship, France needed to put more players forward in an attempt to mount a comeback of their own.

The latter half

With the exception of a few crosses and set pieces that didn’t really test Unai Simón in the Spanish goal, France didn’t exactly come out swinging in the second half. Didier Deschamps decided to make a triple change after 15 minutes in an attempt to inject some fresh energy into the assault. Eduardo Camavinga, Antoine Griezmann, and Bradley Barcola came on.

In response to the changes made by Les Bleus, Spain sought to maintain possession of the ball and prevent any momentum being built by their substitutes. For the next fifteen minutes, the strategy proved effective as La Roja deliberately moved the ball sideways and backwards, keeping the back four clear of trouble.

Then, after a string of indiscretions at the back nearly resulted in a goal by Theo Hernández, Spain suddenly realized they needed to try and score a third goal to secure the victory. In an attempt to find a third goal, Luis de la Fuente substituted Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal for the bench, and Deschamps responded by substituting Olivier Giroud for Ousmane Dembélé in an attempt to find a late equalizer.

In the last ten minutes, both sides had several excellent opportunities to score. Yamal missed the mark with a stunning effort from outside the box, and Mbappé had a fantastic opportunity to run at his defender and find himself in a great position inside the area, but he shot high over the bar and into the stands.

After the adolescent was replaced by his Barça teammate Ferran Torres late into stoppage time, Yamal’s amazing night came to an end. Spain then tried to maintain the ball, squander as much time as they could, and prevent allowing France one last chance at the end. The strategy paid off, as the final siren signaled the end of France’s incredibly dull Euro 2024 campaign and sent La Roja to the Berlin Final.

The day after he turns seventeen, Lamine Yamal might win the European Championship as he continues to make a stunning impression on the international scene.