Spain scraped past France in the first semifinal of Euro 2024 in Munich to book a place in the finals after Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo dazzled brightly in Munich.
Randal Kolo Muani took just eight minutes after the start of the fixture to give France the lead and caught Spain off guard.
However, Spain fought back as Yamal penetrated the French defence and landed the equalizer 13 minutes later. Yamal’s goal – his first of the tournament helped him become the youngest player (16 years and 362 days) in the history of the tournament to score a goal.
Yamal shattered the record previously held by Johan Vonlanthen of Switzerland. Vonlanthen had created the record at the age of 18 years and 141 days at the European 2004 Championships. Coincidentally, he had also scripted the feat against France.
La Roja took the lead after Olmo struck four minutes later and the goal turned out to be decisive.
“I’m thrilled that we are in the final, but we still haven’t done the most important thing, which is win it,” Yamal was quoted as saying by ESPN after the win.
“We were in a difficult moment (when I scored), we didn’t expect to concede so soon. I was aiming for exactly the top corner where my shot went in and it was just a feeling of pure elation.
“I try not to think too much about what’s going on. I just want to enjoy myself and help the team. I came here to win all the matches so that I could celebrate my birthday here in Germany with all of my teammates.”
Spain will have to wait for the second semifinal to unfold in order to know their opponents for the summit clash. The second semifinal will be played between England and Netherlands.