The youngest player in the history of the European Championships scoring the goal to send Spain to the final could not be a more fitting symbol of a new era if this is to be the first men’s title for Spain since the glorious years of 2008–12.
After removing his mask at last, Kylian Mbappe will not be revealing his face on Sunday in Berlin.
Instead, Lamine Yamal, a star who could very well be his successor, will be seen in the final. After previously illuminating Euro 2024, he has now raised it with a spectacular goal that inspired Spain’s 2-1 comeback victory over France.
The way he executed the strike and provided support to his team during a critical moment was both brilliant.
Yamal’s growing stock
This served as a launchpad. It might have also been a moment of epiphany for France, whose low-key football had reached its breaking point. Didier Deschamps might have to do the same on Sunday after instructing viewers throughout the tournament to switch the channel if they don’t like what they’re watching.
It is difficult to avoid thinking that France has wasted a generation to the extent that their brilliance is nothing near its potential and they appear uninteresting.
In actuality, if this team had defeated Spain, it would have been a football farce. It would have been the incorrect lesson to learn and the incorrect legacy for the competition. It is best for the game that “tournament ball” does not continue to this extent. We don’t watch it for this. We are aware of Yamal’s actions, Rodri’s demise, and Nico Williams’s electrifying running.
The most exciting team of the tournament is now just one win away from winning it all, with their fresh enthusiasm balancing the traditional discipline that eventually won them the game tonight.
If England makes it there, they will have an equally difficult assignment to complete.
Ironically, this was the first game in which France was genuinely engaged in anything interesting, and the first half of the game may have been their best footballing sequence of the competition.
That was prior to Spain claiming to be a better team, but at first, France’s players did appear to be ready to step up.
It was a half that was full of moments, the tales that gave rise to them, and some really obvious excellence.
Spain will now be looking to go all the way in the final on Sunday and Yamal is now a strong contender to win the player of the tournament award.
