Spain v France LIVE: Euro 2024 result and final score as Lamine Yamal wondergoal knocks out Kylian Mbappe
Spain 2-1 France: The 16-year-old Lamine Yamal scored a stunning goal as La Roja advanced to the Berlin final, where they will face England or the Netherlands
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Your support makes all the difference.Spain’s Lamine Yamal scored a wondergoal to become the youngest scorer in men’s European Championship history to help knock out tournament favourites France and reach the final of Euro 2024.
The 16-year-old fired a stunning strike into the top cover from outside the penalty area to equalise after Randal Kolo Muani’s early opener in the semi-final in Munich. And Dani Olmo then struck moments later to give Spain the lead, as his goal-bound shot deflected in off France defender Jules Kounde.
Spain looked to contain France in a tight second half that saw few chances, but captain Kylian Mbappe blazed over the bar when finally getting a sight of goal and manager Didier Deschamps’ attacking changes did not help to force a late equaliser as La Roja held on.
Spain are through to their first men’s final since last winning the Euros in 2012 and will face either England or the Netherlands in Berlin on Sunday. Gareth Southgate’s side play the Dutch tomorrow night looking to reach consecutive Euro finals after defeat to Italy three years ago.
Follow all the latest updates from Spain v France below:
The Trent Alexander-Arnold moment behind England’s transformation
Trent Alexander-Arnold had to wait for his moment. More than six years, since his England debut, during tournaments when he was injured or underused. For three-and-a-half games, after the experiment – as it has been semi-officially termed – of starting with him in midfield was abandoned. For 115 minutes, until he was brought on against Switzerland. For the duration of a penalty shootout, until he was up last.
“You’ve got to be ready for the moment when it comes and I think the other day I epitomised that more than anything,” he said. Ready? He seemed to relish it. Sometimes penalties are described as ‘unstoppable’. Perhaps Alexander-Arnold’s actually was, dispatched past Yann Sommer with a blend of power and accuracy. It measured 125.6kmph (78mph), making it the hardest shot in the tournament so far.
He had the air of a man in complete control, and then one of wild abandon, booting the ball up in the air after it bounced back out of the net to him. What was shaping up as a demoralising Euro 2024, a tournament where he lost his place and could have been a scapegoat for failure, instead produced his moment.
The Trent Alexander-Arnold moment behind England’s transformation
The Liverpool defender embraced the new moment as the fifth penalty taker to elevate his own tournament experience and lift the Three Lions into the final four
Gareth Southgate addresses prospect of earlier substitutions against Netherlands at Euro 2024
Gareth Southgate acknowledged he may need to make more substitutions or earlier ones than he has so far in the Euro 2024 knockouts, when England take on Netherlands in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The Three Lions boss only made one change before the 84th minute in the round of 16 against Slovakia, and none at all before the 78th in the quarter-final against Switzerland. England have played 120 minutes twice, and the manager opted against making the sixth change available to him in the added 30 minutes on both occasions.
Following the last-eight shootout win, he spoke about several players including Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham being out on their feet and, given the high temperatures in Dortmund ahead of the semi-final encounter, fatigue may be an increased concern for England this time around.
Gareth Southgate addresses prospect of earlier substitutions against Netherlands
The England manager has been criticised for not being proactive enough in changing things during the Three Lions’ stilted run to the semi-finals
England aren’t finishing Euro 2024 like they started – and it’s still unclear if that’s a good thing
As Berlin and the Henri Delauny trophy come into clearer view, it is almost as if Gareth Southgate’s vision of his side is even more clouded. England’s run to the Euro 2024 semi-final certainly hasn’t been one of those classic cases of a team finding itself as a tournament goes on. So much around Southgate’s side still doesn’t make sense, bar their own iron will, as was all illustrated so chaotically in that quarter-final victory over Switzerland.
What is maybe most significant is that this doesn’t feel as important as it did even a week ago, whatever about three weeks ago. England very much don’t start like they’ll finish, and this doesn’t seem to matter that much. By contrast, the eventual changes seem to result in the winning of ties.
That doesn’t actually mean Southgate has stumbled on what works, though, in another way that can happen in such games.
England aren’t finishing Euro 2024 like they started – in more ways than one
Gareth Southgate has switched up tactics and personnel mid-matches - is that the route to glory?
Trent Alexander-Arnold responds to Harry Kane critics after low-key Euro 2024
Trent Alexander-Arnold has sprung to Harry Kane’s defence by saying any of their opponents would love to see the England captain dropped.
Kane has been criticised for his performances in Euro 2024, where he has looked off the pace despite scoring two goals.
But Alexander-Arnold described the Bayern Munich striker as the best finisher he has ever seen and said Kane’s record of 65 international goals speaks for itself.
Alexander-Arnold responds to Kane critics after low-key Euro 2024
The England skipper has been below his best but could yet win another Golden Boot all the same
Why ‘luck of the draw’ is a lazy phrase to throw at Gareth Southgate’s England
Around the England camp, the players know not to even indulge the idea that Euro 2024 has handed them a “forgiving draw”. Gareth Southgatehas already bristled at the idea in press conferences, so it’s easy to imagine the attitude with the squad.
Players being players, though, one or two can’t help talking about how they would rather not have faced Spain or France yet. That isn’t to disrespect Netherlands, but Ronald Koeman’s team clearly aren’t comparable to the great Dutch sides of the past, nor the other semi-finalists.
Gary Neville made the attitude clear - as well as how players actually speak - when comparing the draws his teams faced against those of Southgate’s era.
Why ‘luck of the draw’ is a lazy phrase to throw at Southgate’s England
There’s far more behind England’s path to the semi-finals than it initially seems
France’s ‘tournament ball’ or Spain’s ideology – how do you actually win the Euros?
Lamine Yamal has been one of the few stars always worth watching at Euro 2024, which means he attracts a lot of defenders, so Luis De La Fuente is intent on making the 16-year-old see better team solutions. In training, the Spainmanager has taken Yamal aside and told him “if you have three players on you, there’s an area where we have superiority – we must get the ball there, not by dribbling, but with fast passing”.
This is Spain, after all. De La Fuente has accelerated the team’s evolution from dogmatic possession, primarily through the use of Yamal and Nico Williams, but the approach is still based on the core ideology. The identity is too ingrained. Such advice still produced maybe the most beautiful play at Euro 2024, which was a wondrous one-touch passing move against Germany to turn defence into attack. It has been lacking from a lot of teams.
A problem with De La Fuente’s advice for the semi-final is that, in the French half, there are very unlikely to be any areas of numerical superiority. That is because Didier Deschamps constantly has one piece of advice of his own. That is to ensure there is always a packed defensive structure around the French goal. If the Spanish mindset is to give the ball, Deschamps’s is to give nothing away.
France’s ‘tournament ball’ or Spain’s ideology – how do you actually win the Euros?
Euro 2024 has become a tournament of competing approaches and Miguel Delaney explains how the final result will decide the championship’s legacy
Meet Lamine Yamal, the 16-year-old Spain wonderkid lighting up Euro 2024
One year ago Lamine Yamal was playing in the quarter-finals of the U17 European Championships in front of only a few hundred supporters. Skipping past defenders for fun, he registered an assist and scored once in Spain’s 3-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.
At just 15 years old, he was one of the youngest players competing in the U17 competition at the time. Yet he already stood out among his peers, finishing as the joint top-scorer of the tournament – despite Spain crashing out to France in the semi-final.
Fast forward a year, he’s now the youngest player competing at Euro 2024, with his boyish smile revealing braces, his joyful approach to the game providing a captivating subplot to Tuesday’s European Championship semi-final against France following a dramatic extra-time victory over hosts Germany.
Meet Lamine Yamal, the 16-year-old Spain wonderkid lighting up Euro 2024
Lamine Yamal has starred in Spain’s run at Euro 2024, becoming the youngest player ever to score in a European championship. Bence Bocsak has witnessed the Barcelona wonderkid’s rise through the Spanish youth teams to this summer’s tournament in Germany
Lamine Yamal hits back at Adrien Rabiot comments as Euro 2024 wondergoal proves point
Lamine Yamal hit back at pre-match comments from France’s Adrien Rabiot as the 16-year-old made history with his stunning goal to help Spain reach the final of Euro 2024.
Yamal became the youngest scorer in men’s European Championship history as his strike lit up the Euro 2024 semi-final against France, withSpain coming from behind to win 2-1.
The teenager arrived at the Euros after a breakthrough season with Barcelona and continued his impressive performances throughout the tournament, but his goal against France was his biggest moment yet .
Afterwards, Yamal approached a TV camera and yelled “Speak now! Speak now!” in comments that appeared to be in reference to France midfielder Rabiot.
Lamine Yamal hits back at Adrien Rabiot comments as Euro 2024 wondergoal proves point
Rabiot said before the semi-final that the 16-year-old had ‘to show much more’ against France at Euro 2024, as Yamal then scored a stunning equaliser
Injury fears for Alvaro Morata as photographer falls on Spain captain’s knee
Alvaro Morata appeared to twist his knee on Wednesday as a photographer slid into the Spain captain, who was celebrating his team’s Euro 2024 semi-final win.
Spain came from behind to beat France 2-1 in Munich, where Lamine Yamal became the youngest-ever goalscorer at a men’s Euros.
Yamal, 16, scored a wondergoal for Spain to cancel out Randal Kolo Muani’s opener, before Dani Olmo struck to put La Roja ahead. And there was no way back for France, as Spain set up a final with Netherlands or England.
Injury fears for Alvaro Morata as photographer falls on Spain captain’s knee
A photographer rushed to capture the celebrations of Spanish players after their Euro 2024 semi-final win – only to slide into Morata
Lamine Yamal becomes youngest-ever men’s Euros goalscorer with world-class strike against France
Lamine Yamal became the youngest-ever player to score at a men’s European Championship on Tuesday, when he netted a wonder goal for Spain.
Lamal, 16, fired a long-range shot into the top corner from outside France’s penalty area, equalising for his nation after Randal Kolo Muani’s early opener in the Euro 2024 semi-final.
With his goal, the winger broke a 20-year record; at Euro 2004, then-18-year-old Johan Vonlanthen scored for Switzerland against France, four days after Wayne Rooney set a record by scoring against the Swiss.
Lamine Yamal becomes youngest-ever men’s Euros goalscorer with strike against France
The 16-year-old fired a shot into the top corner from outside the box, equalising for Spain in their Euro 2024 semi-final with France
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