Luis de la Fuente’s sensational Spain came out on top in their heavyweight showdown with Didier Deschamps’ France in the first 2024 European Championship (EURO 2024) semi-final on Tuesday night (July 9). Save for a brief spell at the beginning, La Roja looked more settled than Les Bleus and came away with a 2-1 victory. They will face either the Netherlands or England in the final in Berlin on Sunday, July 15.
De La Fuente’s Spain came into Tuesday’s semi-final in blistering form. Not only were they the only team to win all five of their matches in EURO 2024, but they had beaten arguably the second-best team in the competition, Germany, in the previous round. Deschamps’ France, meanwhile, had looked shy in front of goal, scoring thrice in their five matches, with none of their goals coming from open play.
Spain Secure Comeback Win Over Might France
Spain, as expected, started the game on the front foot. Five minutes into the game, Lamine Yamal received the ball on the right and sent a cross into the area with his left foot. Spain’s leading scorer, Fabian Ruiz, got on the end of it but could not time his jump and sent it well above the crossbar for a goal kick. Three minutes after Spain squandered their first goalscoring opportunity, France claimed their first goal from open play in EURO 2024. Kylian Mbappe, playing without a mask after three games, sent a peach of a cross into the Spanish box. Randal Kolo Muani arrived at the far post to nod the ball in from close range.
Spain were in a state of daze after conceding the opener, but they did not take long to return the favor. La Roja’s boy extraordinaire, Yamal, picked the ball around 30 yards away from goal, shuffled it onto his left foot, and dispatched an inswinging curler. The ball glided into the inside of the top-left post before nestling into the back of the French net.
Lamine Yamal becomes the player ever to win Man of the Match in UEFA…
Source link : https://sportslens.com/news/spain-france-lamine-yamal-euro-2024-final/
Author : Sushan Chakraborty
Publish date : 2024-07-10 05:46:13
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Author : soccernews
Publish date : 2024-07-10 06:35:03
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.