Munich, July 10 (IANS) Spain came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over France in the Euro 2024 semifinal late on Tuesday, thanks to quick goals from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo.
The 16-year-old rising star Yamal became the youngest goalscorer at the Euros.
Spain started brightly and had the first chance of the game when Fabian Ruiz headed over at the far post after almost five minutes, reports Xinhua.
In the 9th minute, France, who had reached the last four without scoring from open play, broke the deadlock when Kylian Mbappe’s in-swinging cross allowed Randal Kolo Muani to head home from close range.
Spain pressed relentlessly for an equalizer but initially found it difficult to penetrate France’s well-organized defense.
However, La Roja’s efforts were rewarded when Yamal curled the ball into the top corner of the net in the 21st minute.
Things worsened for Les Bleus just four minutes later when Olmo danced his way through the French defense to make it 2-1.
After the restart, Didier Deschamps’ men, trailing for the first time in the competition, pushed forward and pinned Spain in their territory.
Spain kept all their men behind the ball. France’s Aurelien Tchouameni headed into the arms of Unai Simon before the goalkeeper was forced to palm away Ousmane Dembele’s dangerous cross.
France and Spain traded attacks in the closing stages, with Mbappe and Yamal going close from the edge of the area. Spain’s defense held firm for the remainder of the match to book their place in the final, where they will meet the winner of the other semifinal between England and the Netherlands.
“We were able to open the scoring, which was great, but Spain played the game better than we did. We pushed until the end,” said France coach Deschamps.
–IANS
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