STUTTGART — Lamine Yamal scored twice as Spain held off a France comeback to
reach the Nations League final after an enthralling 5-4 triumph in the second
semifinal in Stuttgart, the highest-scoring match in the competition's history.
Spain have reached a third successive Nations League
final. They are unbeaten in their last 12 Nations League matches (Wins 8 Draw
4).
A pulsating end-to-end start only heightened the
atmosphere surrounding another meeting of these European giants. Kylian Mbappe
and Nico Williams, twice, made sure each goalkeeper was active early on while
Theo Hernández struck the bar from the edge of the area as the last two winners
of this competition tried to assert themselves.
It was third time lucky for Williams in the 22nd minute
though, as he hammered in from close range after Mikel Oyarzabal held off his
marker and prodded into the Athletic Club man's path.
Oyarzabal was equally impactful three minutes later as
his delightful clipped return pass over the France defence allowed Mikel
Merino, who scored a last-gasp winner against Germany in this stadium to put
Spain in the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-finals, to run clear and slide his finish past
Maignan.
Desire Doue and, on two occasions, Ousmane Dembele– both
fresh from UEFA Champions League glory with Paris Saint-Germain – tested Unai
Simón in response, though Didier Deschamps' men were being consistently
tormented by the outrageous talents of Lamine Yamal in the other direction.
The 17-year-old would be rewarded shortly after
half-time, drawing a foul from Adrien Rabiot in the box and nervelessly
converting the resulting penalty, before Pedri galloped on to Williams' pass
and nonchalantly dispatched number four a minute later.
A glimmer of hope for France came when Kylian Mbappé
ended a run of seven international matches without a goal when he was fouled by
Pedro Porro and swept in the penalty himself but their injury-hit defence was
breached once again by Yamal's poked finish.
Les Bleus refused to go out meekly, however, debutant
Rayan Cherki scoring a stunning effort from 20 minutes during a lively cameo
and fellow substitute Malo Gusto providing a teasing cross that Daniel Vivian
could only turn into his own net.
Cherki then crossed for Randal Kolo Muani to head in Les
Bleus' fourth in added time but Luis de la Fuente's men held on to advance to a
record third Nations League final.
"I'm happy. I enjoy suffering! I don't understand
sport without suffering. When two great teams face off like today, it's normal
every team makes the most of their moments. We need to learn from every game
and see the game in a positive light," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said.
"When two great teams like this play, you sometimes
see a lot of goals. They will make you suffer until the end but we went to the
final despite the mistakes we made. We were aware of what we wanted to do. We
wanted to make history. The greatest thing when you are winning is to keep
winning,"Player of the Match Yamal said.
