In a rather unusual fashion, Spain beat in the UEFA Nations League semifinal clash played on Thursday evening at the MHPArena in Stuttgart.
Nico Williams broke the deadlock in Spain’s favour in the 22nd minute, and his team went to the break two goals up as Mikel Merino added a second in the 25th. Lamine Yamal scored the third from the spot in the 54th, and when Pedri added a fourth in the 57th, it seemed Luis de la Fuente’s men would cruise to the final without major difficulties. A penalty converted by Kylian Mbappe made it 4-1, but in the 67th, Yamal struck again for Spain. However, the ending almost became messy as Rayan Cherki (79′), and own-goal by Spain’s Dani Vivian (84′), and a stoppage-time goal from Randal Kolo Muani (93′) restored a little pride for .
Teams
Spain had Unai Simon in goal, with Robin Le Normand and Dean Huijsen forming the centre-back partnership, flanked by Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella. With Rodri still unavailable for international duty, Martin Zubimendi anchored the midfield, ed in the middle of the park by Pedri and Merino. Yamal and Williams flanked Mikel Oyarzabal in attack.
For , Mike Maignan stood between the posts. Ibrahima Konate and Clement Lenglet paired up in the heart of defence, with Theo Hernandez on the left and Pierre Kalulu on the right. Adrien Rabiot and Manu Kone sat deep in midfield, while the trio of Desire Doue, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele played behind Mbappe up front.
Brief recap
almost took the lead in the sixth minute when Dembele won the ball in the opposition half, burst forward and employed Mbappe inside the box, but Simon rushed out to make a fine save. Hernandez also came close six minutes later, but his effort from the edge of the box grazed the woodwork and went out.
Spain took nearly a quarter of the match to respond, but when they did, they made it count. Yamal did some fine work on the right and ed to Oyarzabal, who set up Williams for a powerful finish under the bar. Oyarzabal got himself another assist two minutes later, receiving the ball from Merino before setting up the Arsenal midfielder for another well-taken goal.
came close again through Mbappe in the 31st minute, but Simon denied the Real Madrid attacker once more. Another six minutes later, the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper stood up again to save his team, this time making a fine save from Dembele. Two minutes before the break, Spain thought they had gone 3-0 up through Huijsen, but the goal was ruled out for offside, before Simon stopped Dembele from scoring yet again at the other end.
Three minutes into the second half, it became painfully clear from ’s point of view that this was not going to be Dembele’s evening as the PSG forward failed to get on the end of a powerful low cross from Hernandez.
On the stroke of 50 minutes, Merino won the ball for Spain in the opposition half and Williams took it forward, employing Yamal on his left. The young Barcelona winger was then clipped by Rabiot inside the box and referee Michael Oliver showed no hesitation to award a penalty and book the French midfielder. After a long argument and a VAR review, the decision was upheld and Yamal stepped up himself to score Spain’s third. Two minutes later, Pedri made it four after a slick one-two with Williams.
pulled one back shortly afterwards, as Mbappe outwitted Porro inside the box and forced the Tottenham Hotspur right-back to pull him from behind, and then promptly went to ground. The referee was decisive again as he blew the whistle to award the penalty, which Mbappe himself converted. Had Doue managed to score with his curled effort in the 62nd minute, who knows what might have unfolded afterwards, but the shot went wide and Spain were off the hook.
De la Fuente’s men punished their opponents swiftly, as a fine Zubimendi’s was flicked on into the box by Porro for Yamal to score his second and Spain’s fifth on the evening.
Cherki, who had come on to replace Olise earlier, set up Dembele for yet another fantastic chance, but the former Barcelona man only managed to hit the post from close range. A heavy touch from Merino close to his own goal opened up an opportunity for Mbappe, but Simon showed his class yet again.
And then Cherki took matters into his own hands to score ’s second, setting himself up for a powerful volley to finally beat Simon. Malo Gusto, having replaced Kalulu, then whipped in from the right and forced Vivian, a substitute for Spain, to divert into his own net.
Maignan kept ’s hopes alive with five minutes to go with a great save from Samu Aghehowa, just before Kolo Muani wasted a great chance at the other end after Bradley Barcola showed Porro his pace to set up the Juventus striker.
Kolo Muani made slight amends for that three minutes into the stoppage time by heading in a fabulous cross from Cherki to make it 5-4, but that turned out to be the final score.
Into the final
Spain have thus earned a place in the Nations League final, where they will face neighbours Portugal, who came back from a goal down to beat in the other semifinal on the previous evening.
June 8 is set to be a great day for football, with and crossing swords for the bronze medal in the afternoon, before Spain and Portugal do battle for the gold later that evening.
Looking at it purely from the perspective of sheer football quality, Spain are certainly the favourites. However, led by the inspirational Cristiano Ronaldo and boasting the class of the likes of Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota and many other top-level players, Portugal are surely not to be ruled out either.
Is Yamal the best in the world?
This is obviously not an easy question to answer. The Barcelona winger is certainly among the top favourites for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, but it’s difficult to compare players who delivered fantastic football throughout the 2024/25 season, even if they do play similar roles for their respective teams.
It should not be forgotten that Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah broke the Premier League record for most goal contributions in a 38-game season and equaled the all-time record. However, Liverpool’s early exit from the Champions League arguably diminishes his overall chances. On the other hand, it’s the Champions League success achieved by Paris Saint-Germain that makes Ousmane Dembele a strong candidate.
But Yamal is arguably the greatest wonder of them all. At the age of just 17, he is already the main attacking threat for both European champions Spain and La Liga champions Barcelona. It’s very strange to see far more experienced players relying on his magic so heavily, at both club and international level.
And yet, despite his tender age, Yamal has already shown that apart from the obviously immense talent and quality on the ball, he has the right mentality for greatness. The composure he displayed when taking the penalty in this match, along with his superbly taken second goal, are signs of a finished article at the very top of the game, and the fact that he’s 17 means only that there are many years left for his fans to enjoy, and for his opponents to fear.
This is a young man whose performances say:
“Pressure? Expectations? Bring it on!”
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
