Lamine Yamal scored a brace as Spain edged past France in a nine-goal thriller in the Nations League semifinal at MHP Arena in Stuttgart on Thursday, setting up a final with Portugal.
The final will be played on Sunday at the Allianz Arena in Munich.Yamal, the 17-year-old Barcelona forward and one of the strongest contenders for the Ballon d’Or this season, helped Spain take a 3-0 lead when he scored from a penalty in the 54th minute. Pedri scored a minute later to extend Spain’s tally, and Yamal further increased their lead to 5-1.But France found a way to stage a comeback, scoring three times in the last 11 minutes in a desperate attempt to take the game into extra time.
Spain, however, held on to their one-goal lead and sealed their place in the final. They will face Portugal in the final on Sunday. France, meanwhile, will face Germany in Stuttgart in the third-place playoff.After taking a 2-0 lead through first-half goals by Nico Williams and Mikel Merino, Yamal earned a penalty when he was fouled by Adrien Rabiot and calmly sent goalkeeper Mike Maignan the wrong way from the spot.Pedri made it 4-0, following a Williams pass and clinically finishing before France pulled a goal back through Kylian Mbappe’s penalty following a foul by Tottenham’s Pedro Porro.But Yamal managed to keep Spain ahead in the game when he scored his second goal and Spain’s fifth with a fine low strike, and the game looked over.However, France managed to stay in the hunt with their substitute Rayan Cherki sparking the revival. On his international debut, Cherki collected Mbappe’s pass, flicked the ball up, and volleyed home a wonderful strike from 20 yards out to make it 5-2.France further reduced the margin when Spanish defender Dani Vivian scored an own goal and Randal Kolo Muani headed in Cherki’s cross to make it 5-4. But France could not find an equaliser as they ran out of time, and Spain cruised to the final.