Spain’s 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal led his team to a thrilling 5-4 win over France in the UEFA Nations League semifinal on Thursday night.
Yamal scored two goals and won a penalty, outshining France’s young stars Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé. Spain will now face Portugal in the final on Sunday.
“It was a great game. In the end, it was a little close, but we played very well and I think deserved to win,” Yamal said after the match.
Spain started strong and took control early. Nico Williams scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute after Yamal passed the ball to Mikel Oyarzabal, who set Williams up with a perfect assist.
Just three minutes later, Mikel Merino made it 2-0 after a quick one-two with Oyarzabal. France had some chances, including a shot from Theo Hernández that hit the crossbar, but Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón made key saves to stop Doué, Kylian Mbappé, and Dembélé.
Spain kept pushing and earned a penalty after Adrien Rabiot fouled Yamal. The teenager calmly scored from the spot to make it 3-0 in the 54th minute. Just a minute later, Pedri added a fourth with a clever finish past France’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
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France pulled one back through a penalty from Mbappé after Pedro Porro committed a foul, but Yamal answered again with his second goal, tapping the ball into the net to make it 5-1.
France made a late push, with debutant Rayan Cherki scoring in the 81st minute. Then Daniel Vivian accidentally scored an own goal, and in added time, Cherki assisted Randal Kolo Muani to make it 5-4.
Despite the late goals, Spain held on to win what became the highest-scoring match in Nations League history.
With this performance, Spain not only earned a spot in the final but also showed the football world that Lamine Yamal is a rising star to watch.