In a rather unusual way, Spain defeated France in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League in Mpapana, Stuttgart on Thursday evening.
Nico Williams defeated the deadlock courtesy of Spain in the 22nd minute, and his team scored two goals on the 25th as Mikel Merino added a second. Lamine Yamal took third place on the 54th, and when Pedri added a fourth on the 57th, it seemed Luis de La Fuente’s men would cruise towards the final without much difficulty. The penalty converted by Kylian Mbappe was 4-1, but at 67th, Yamal attacked again for Spain. However, the ending became almost cluttered as Rayan Cerki (79′), with his own goal by Spanish Dani Vivian (84′), and a stop-time goal from Randal Koro Muani (93′) recovered with a bit of pride in France.
team
Spain had a goal, with Robin Le Normando and Dean Huissen formed a centre-back partnership adjacent to Pedro Polo and Mark Cukrera. As Rodri has not yet fulfilled his international duties, Martin Zubimendi locks in the middle, with Pedri and Merino joining the middle of the park. Yamal and Williams were caught between Mikel Oyarzabal in the attack.
For France, Mike Maignan stood between the posts. Ibrahima konate and Clement Lenglet were paired in the centre of the defense, with Theo Hernandez paired to the left and Pierre Kalulu on the right. Adrian Rabiot and Manu Korn sat deep in the midfield, while the trio of Desire Doe, Michael Oris and Ottoman Dembele played forward behind Mbappe.
Short summary
France took the lead in the sixth minute when Dembele scored the ball in half of the opposition, smashed through forward and recruited Mbappe in the box, but Simon quickly made a great save. Hernandez also approached six minutes later, but his efforts from the edge of the box grazing woodworking out.
Spain took almost a quarter of the match and responded, but when they did, they counted it. Yamal did some great work on the right and handed it over to Oyarzabal. Oyalzabal got another assist two minutes later, receiving the ball from Merino, then set up an Arsenal midfielder to score another well-touched goal.
France approached again through Mbappe in the 31st minute, but Simon again denied the Real Madrid attacker. Six more minutes later, the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper stood up again to save the team. This time I made a great save from Dembele. Two minutes before the break, Spain thought they had gone up Huijsen 3-0, but the goal was ruled out offside before Simon stopped Dembele from scoring again on the other side.
Three minutes into the second half, it became painfully clear from a French perspective that this would not be Dembele’s night, as this failed to reach the end of a strong low cross from Hernandez.
With a 50-minute stroke, Merino won the Spanish ball in half of the opposition, and Williams moved it forward and recruited Yamal to the left. The young Barcelona winger was then cut off by a Rabiot into a box, and Judge Michael Oliver awarded a penalty and showed no hesitation to book the French midfielder. After a long discussion and VAR review, the decision was supported and Yamal stepped up himself to win the third place in Spain. Two minutes later, Pedri went into four after a refined one-two with Williams.
France quickly pulled one back. Mbappe surpassed the polo in the box, pulling Tottenham Hotspur from behind to the right back and quickly went to the ground. The referee was once again decisive, and he blew whi and awarded the penalty. If Doue scored in a curled effort in the 62nd minute, he knew what would have developed afterwards, but the shots got bigger and Spain was off the hook.
De La Fuente’s men quickly punished the enemy as Yamal got Yamal and got into Polo’s box to get fifth in the evening.
Cerki, who had previously come to replace the Ollies, set up Dembele for even more fantastic opportunities, but the former Barcelona man was able to hit the post only from close range. A fierce touch from Merino near his own goal opened up an opportunity for Mbappe, but Simon showed his class again.
Then, Cherki took matters into his own hands, won France’s second, and eventually defeated Simon and prepared for a strong volley. Malo Gusto, who replaced Carl, whipped from the right, detoured to his own net by Vivian, the Spanish replacement.
Maignan kept French hope alive for five minutes with a great save from Sam Agehaha, just before Koro Muni wasted a big opportunity on the other side after Bradley Barcola showed off the pace to set up the Juventus striker.
Koro Muani made a minor correction of 3 minutes of stop time by going 5-4 from Cherki towards a great cross, which turned out to be the final score.
To the final
Thus, Spain achieved position in the international league final. There, they will face neighbor Portugal, who has defeated Germany in the other semi-finals the night before and returned from goal.
June 8th is set to be a great day for soccer. Germany and France draw swords for a bronze medal in the afternoon.
From a purely pure football quality perspective, Spain is certainly a favorite. But it is led by inspirational Cristiano Ronaldo and boasts a class of Bernardo Silva, Reuben Diaz, Vitanya, Bruno Fernandez, Diogo Jota and many other top-level players.
Is Yamal the best in the world?
This is clearly not a simple question. The Barcelona winger is certainly one of the 2025 Ballon D’Or’s biggest favorites, but it’s hard to compare the players who have provided great football throughout the 2024/25 season.
It should not be forgotten that Liverpool’s Mohamed Sarah broke Premier League records with most goal contributions in a 38-game season, comparable to the highest ever record. However, Liverpool’s early exit from the Champions League definitely reduces his overall chances. Meanwhile, the Champions League success achieved by Paris Saint-Germain has made Osmane Dembele a strong candidate.
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But Yamal is definitely the biggest wonder of them all. At just 17 years old, he is already a major offensive threat to both European champions Spain and Laliga champions Barcelona. It’s very strange to see experienced players, both at the club and international level, relying so heavily on his magic.
Yet despite his tender age, Yamal already shows that, apart from the obviously immeasurable talent and the quality of the ball, he has the right mindset for greatness. The calm he showed when taking the penalty in this match, along with his brilliant second goal, is a sign of a completed article at the top of the game, with the fact that he is 17 years old, meaning that fans will have years left for fun, and that their opponents will be afraid.
This is the young man that performance says.
“Pressure? What about expectations? It brings it!”