Official: Spain knock France out of Euro 2024, qualify for final
Spain eliminated France from the semi-finals of Euro 2024 and qualified for the final. La Roja bagged a 2-1 win against Didier Deschamps' squad on Tuesday, June 9, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
France opened the scoring as forward Randal Kolo Muani netted a goal from an assist by captain Kylian Mbappe in the eighth minute. Lamine Yamal scored the equaliser for Spain with a curling strike from an assist by Alvaro Morata in the 21st minute. Spanish forward Dani Olmo took the lead in the 25th minute.
La Roja maintained better ball possession (59%), having more passes (500) and maintaining higher pass accuracy (88%) throughout the clash. With this win, Luis de la Fuente, who took charge as manager in 2022, became the first coach to win six consecutive matches at a men's European Championship.
The last time La Roja made it to the final of the Euros was in 2012. Spain has won the UEFA European Championship thrice, in 1964, 2008, and 2012, while being runners-up in 1984 and ending third in 2020.
The Euro 2024 final is slated for July 14 at Olympiastadion Berlin. The other finalist will be decided in the semi-final clash between England and Netherlands on July 10 at Signal Iduna Park.
Spain's Lamine Yamal set two records in Euro 2024 semi-final clash against France
Spanish winger Lamine Yamal became the youngest scorer in an international tournament after netting the equaliser against France in the semi-finals. At the age of 16 years and 362 days, the Barcelona star broke the record of late Brazil legend Pelé (17 years and 239 days at the 1958 FIFA World Cup).
As La Roja advanced to the Euro 2024 final, Yamal became the youngest finalist in the tournament's history.
Earlier in the tournament, Lamine Yamal bagged the record of being the youngest player to appear in the European Championship after starting for Spain in their 3-0 opening Euro 2024 win over Croatia. He also broke another record in that match by becoming the youngest assist provider in Euros history.