Spain beat France 2-1 in Munich in the first semifinal of Euro 2024 last Tuesday, July 9, to book its place in the final. Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo scored for the Spaniards after Randal Kolo Muani had put France ahead.
Spain thus maintained its perfect record in the tournament, having won all their matches so far. The Spaniards have also been the stand-out team in the competition and probably deserve to win the tournament more than any other team. The Spaniards were missing players like Pedri, Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand in the match, but still managed to win on the day.
Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo Impressed Against France
Lamine Yamal became the youngest player ever to score in a European Championships by scoring a stunning left-footed shot after cutting in from the right flank. The 16-year-old Barcelona right-winger has been one of the best youngsters in the tournament and has also registered three assists in it, which is simply astounding.
The same goes for Nico Williams, Spain’s left-winger, who has also tormented Spain’s opponents repeatedly. Those two youngsters have been instrumental in the success of La Roja so far. Moreover, Olmo, who started for Luis de la Fuente’s team against France after Pedri suffered an injury against Germany, has scored two goals and registered an assist in the last two matches. This highlights Spain’s squad depth, especially up at the sharp end.
Spain’s Attacking Approach Refreshing
After having conceded the goal, the Spaniards threw caution into the wind and played off a low block no longer. The counter-attacking threat posed by Kylian Mbappé was always there, but Spain did not hesitate to allow him some room inside their own half.
The presence of Rodri and Fabian Ruiz in the midfield meant that Spain kept ball-possession for the majority of the match. Spain finished the match with 59% ball-possession. However, France had more attempts at goal than their opponents on the day. Their superior passing pegged France back and Yamal and Olmo were incisive and direct enough to breach the much-vaunted French defence.
It was a first-half blitzkrieg that saw Spain equalize and then take the lead. They became more cautious in their approach after taking the lead and started passing the ball around. France made substitutions in the second half, but those were not enough to get the equalizer for them.
Didier Deschamps’ team’s habit of reaching the final of major international tournaments was thus broken by the Spaniards. France has been very ordinary in terms of their performance in the ongoing Euros and probably did not deserve to reach the final.
Spain, meanwhile, is looking really solid and it will take a herculean effort to beat them in the final. Success in a major tournament has eluded the Spaniards since 2012, and it is high time to reverse the tide. It remains to be seen whether de la Fuente’s man can go all the way to attain glory this time around. The odds are heavily stacked in favor of them in that respect.