Lamine Yamal made headlines once again for Spain after scoring twice in the epic 5-4 win over France in the UEFA Nations League semi-final in Stuttgart on Thursday.
The game was a rematch of the 2021 final which Les Bleus won 2-1 in Milan but it was La Roja who were ahead this time after 22 minutes, when Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal found Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams, who smashed the ball past goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Oyarzabal was the creator again as he fed Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino for the second goal three minutes later.
Spain thought they were 3-0 up when new Real Madrid signing Dean Huijsen scored from a free kick in the 44th minute, the former Bournemouth player was however ruled out for offside by VAR.
Yamal scored in the 54th minute from the penalty spot before Barcelona midfielder Pedri made it 4-0 a minute later, thanks to an assist from Williams.
France pulled one back in the 59th minute from the spot through Real Madrid talisman Kylian Mbappe, only for Spain to go 5-1 up in the 67th minute when Yamal poked the ball past Maignan after he was fed by Tottenham Hotspur right-back Pedro Porro.
It took the 17-year-old Barcelona sensation of Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean heritage to six international goals and nine assists in 20 caps for Spain.
The final 11 minutes saw Les Bleus try to force a comeback as Mbappe assisted Rayan Cherki for the second goal.
Substitute Dani Vivian then put the ball into his own net to make it 5-3 for Didier Deschamps’ side before Paris Saint-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani scored the fourth goal for the French in added time after he was nicely set up by Cherki.
The victory sends Spain to their third consecutive Nations League final where they will face Iberian rivals Portugal in Munich on Sunday while France will battle Germany in the third/fourth place playoff in Stuttgart on the same day.
