Salsa into the Final: Spain beats France 2-1

The first semi-final in Munich was a match of ‘significant action’. This literary phrase might seem a bit heavy at first glance but the game was decided majorly within the first 24 minutes itself.

Lamine Yamal, the bubbling magical teenager has been the talk of the town this tournament. His dazzling attacks through the wings has scared big powerhouses of football. And this match was no exception. Yamal began his magic within the 4^th minute of the game itself. His cross from inside the French D to midfielder Fabian Ruiz was an example of pin-point precision. Spanish fans only hoped, if the header could also have been that accurate.

Kylian Mbappe being the big boy on the pitch showed Yamal how it is done within the next 4 minutes. At the cusp of the 7^th minute, the French captain pulled up a similar cross from within the Spanish D and found Kolo Muani for a free header, who demonstrated to the Spaniards how the job is done.

Keeper Unai Simon totally beaten with such a precise header, France found the lead within just 8 minutes of the game.

Many experts hoped for this France form to return at the big match. And France did indeed look sharp in their movements, until the next ‘significant action’ de-stabilised them to the core.

Finding room in the 20^th minute, Yamal decided to go for goal himself from the midfield. Hitting a beautiful bending shot, calculated enough to be above the glove of Mike Magnain and low enough to touch the goalpost and find the net, this goal makes Yamal, the youngest goal scorer in Euro Cup history. It is truly inspiring to note how the youngest player of the Spanish squad (who will celebrate his 17th birthday a day before the final) is not only ready to step up to the big stage but has also become their marquee player.

And Yamal’s inspiration seemed to rub off on forward Dani Olmo, as within the next four minutes, Olmo scored a wonder goal to give Spain the lead.

Olmo who has cemented his place as a starter for Spain with his majestic performance in this tournament outwitted Camavinga with his array of tricks. A delightful ball control followed by a flick was enough to outplay France no 6. And no matter how much Kounde tried to control the ball on the goalline, it had already decided to ‘French kiss’ the net. The match was indeed decided within the first 24 minutes of the game, with Spain leading by two goals to one.

The rest of the match had largely no significant action for the fans but many points of significance for the French coach Deschamps to improve upon. Fabian Ruiz’s pass through the gaps to Nico William Jr in the 45^th minute forced the French goalkeeper to step way out of his line in order to prevent another attempt.  Spain’s dominance and Yamal’s hunger to express himself were evident as the youngster’s 75^th minute attempt kept the French in line. A left footed inside cutting did create tremors among the blue shirts but luckily for them the shot was above the bar.

It is not like the French did not dominate. They were outplayed after the second goal for sure but akin to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final they were given clear chances to bounce back in the game.  

A clutter pool in the 75^th minute in the Spanish defence resulted in the ball rolling on to Theo Hernandez’s unmarked position in a perfect rolling tempo. If only the AC Milan left back could put the shot on goal, France could have made use of their golden luck in penalties.  

But hopes from Mbappe were higher and as luck would have it, the Real Madrid forward was clearly not in his best form. The star striker who put France back in the World Cup final in a clearly lost match, got blessed with a great opportunity to level things up. In the 85^th minute, finding a great through pass in his run, Mbappe dribbled effortlessly past Athletic Bilbao defender Daniel Vivien but blasted the final shot in a sigh of disappointment. Maybe his stars aren’t right for this summer or maybe the killer touch is missing due to a long season?

Whatever the case, Mbappe has plenty of time to re-tune his rhythm, as Spain go on to play the final at Olympiastadion stadium in Berlin this Sunday.