Stuttgart: Lamine Yamal scored twice as Spain held off a France comeback to reach the Nations League final after an enthralling 5-4 triumph in the second semifinal in Stuttgart, the highest-scoring match in the competition’s history.
Spain have reached a third successive Nations League final. They are unbeaten in their last 12 Nations League matches (Wins 8 Draw 4).
A pulsating end-to-end start only heightened the atmosphere surrounding another meeting of these European giants. Kylian Mbappe and Nico Williams, twice, made sure each goalkeeper was active early on while Theo Hernández struck the bar from the edge of the area as the last two winners of this competition tried to assert themselves.
It was third time lucky for Williams in the 22nd minute though, as he hammered in from close range after Mikel Oyarzabal held off his marker and prodded into the Athletic Club man’s path.
Oyarzabal was equally impactful three minutes later as his delightful clipped return pass over the France defence allowed Mikel Merino, who scored a last-gasp winner against Germany in this stadium to put Spain in the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-finals, to run clear and slide his finish past Maignan.
Desire Doue and, on two occasions, Ousmane Dembele– both fresh from UEFA Champions League glory with Paris Saint-Germain – tested Unai Simón in response, though Didier Deschamps’ men were being consistently tormented by the outrageous talents of Lamine Yamal in the other direction.
The 17-year-old would be rewarded shortly after half-time, drawing a foul from Adrien Rabiot in the box and nervelessly converting the resulting penalty, before Pedri galloped on to Williams’ pass and nonchalantly dispatched number four a minute later.
A glimmer of hope for France came when Kylian Mbappé ended a run of seven international matches without a goal when he was fouled by Pedro Porro and swept in the penalty himself but their injury-hit defence was breached once again by Yamal’s poked finish.
Les Bleus refused to go out meekly, however, debutant Rayan Cherki scoring a stunning effort from 20 minutes during a lively cameo and fellow substitute Malo Gusto providing a teasing cross that Daniel Vivian could only turn into his own net.
Cherki then crossed for Randal Kolo Muani to head in Les Bleus’ fourth in added time but Luis de la Fuente’s men held on to advance to a record third Nations League final.
“I’m happy. I enjoy suffering! I don’t understand sport without suffering. When two great teams face off like today, it’s normal every team makes the most of their moments. We need to learn from every game and see the game in a positive light,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said.
“When two great teams like this play, you sometimes see a lot of goals. They will make you suffer until the end but we went to the final despite the mistakes we made. We were aware of what we wanted to do. We wanted to make history. The greatest thing when you are winning is to keep winning,”Player of the Match Yamal said.
(IANS)
