JJulian Nagelsmann said Germany wasn’t going to kick him out, but, well, they was Adrien Rabiot promised that they would take him out of his comfort zone and put him under pressure. He looked fine and there was an implicit compliment in the Frenchman’s words, but if he Beat Francehe said, “We need to do more.” And Ramin Yamal is thatand ThereA fearless 16-year-old, he curled an incredible shot to send Spain to the final, beating a man named Edson Arantes de Nascimento to become the youngest ever scorer at a Euros or World Cup.
that And all thisAt the end of the semi-final, Rodri Spain Midfielder Rodri, who is in a similar position to the Spain coach, said he called Lamine Yamal aside to congratulate him. “I’m very, very proud of him,” Rodri said.
“People will be glued to that goal, where a 16-year-old boy suddenly became the protagonist. And it takes an extraordinary talent to do that. To do that in a semi-final says what kind of player he is and what a great future he has. Very few players can do that,” Rodri insisted. “But I will be glued to his commitment defensively, his support for his teammates, the way he closed off space, the energy he gave to the team. How perfect his game was… and I told him that personally… hat.”
The first thing Lamine Yamal did after 110 seconds was to play a long diagonal pass, exchange passes with Jesús Navas and then run away from Rabiot and Theo Hernández. The second was a foul, not on him but by him, with Hernández once again becoming the victim, the spotted boy with the brace blocking it out. And the third was a brilliant pass from Fabian Ruiz that could have put Spain in the lead. All this happened within five minutes. The last thing he did after 90 minutes was to get a yellow card for a final pass that brought down Hernández.
During that time he had three shots, 44 touches, two key passes and three attempted tackles – all successful. When he finally reached his teammates he made a long detour to the bench and collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. “Not only did he score, he did an exceptional job. He gave it his all until the very end,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “It makes him an even better player. It will make him mature as a footballer and as a person.”
But Rodri was right. People obsess over goals, they remember them more than anything. How can you not remember them? “I was hoping that the first goal would be a great one,” said Lamine Yamal, appearing at the side of the bus with the MVP award in hand. “My little brother, the mini MVP,” Nico Williams called him. The Spanish winger, Symbol of a new generationA new team in a changing society, they have become inseparable over the past month. Golazo Okay. It’s almost exactly the same goal he scored a year ago. Against France. Euro semi-final. Under-17 level.
It all happened so quickly. Under-17, under-19 and straight to the first team. His Barcelona debut was at 15, less than a year after he spoke to his family about choosing Spain over Morocco. Some, especially on the other side of the great footballing divide, thought it was too early, even ridiculous. He still needs parental permission to go abroad with the national team or Barcelona. He has a tutor assigned to him. At the start of the season, the club’s sports department set a goal for the season: to complete his fourth year at school. He did his homework and handed in his exam results in Donaueschingen.
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He passed it. “We can focus on the Euros,” he said. And he passed it too. The pitch decides. After the match, Antoine Griezmann, when asked about Lamine Yamal, replied: “You saw it.” Earlier, during the countdown, Kylian Mbappé came to greet him. Next The great player who took over the throne from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Nine Navas is older than Lamine Yamal — his teammate who on Tuesday night became the oldest player to play in a semifinal, as the last member of the 2010 World Cup-winning team, when Lamine Yamal was three years old — is older than Lamine Yamal’s father. By the time Lamine Yamal was born, Navas had won five trophies.
“The last time Spain played in the Euros, I watched it in a shopping centre with my friends,” Ramin Yamal said after the match. “Now I want to enjoy being here. I spoke to my mum and she was very happy.”
De la Fuente added: “We have seen a genius in this player and my advice to him will be to continue to develop with the same humility and maturity he shows on the pitch. He looks like a much more experienced player. I’m happy he’s Spanish and in our team and I hope I can enjoy playing with him for many years to come.”
He turns 17 on Saturday, the day before the final. “I told my mom I don’t need her to buy me anything,” he says. “I’m already in the final. It’s a dream come true for me and for my mom.”
