THIS was truly a heavyweight clash of the titans. Two footballing nations with a wealth of talent that brought increased expectations from its own set of supporters and heightened expectation of glory.
Didier Deschamps was seeking to be the first person to win the Euros as player and manager. Spain is looking to emulate La Roja teams that won three back-to-back major tournaments in the earlier years of this century.
While the tournament had served up some snooze fests, this lived up to the billing providing plenty of thrills and spills for fans tuning in.
Here is how the first semifinal unfolded.
Spain 2 v France 1
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Or boy actually. One of the tournament’s shining stars picked the semifinal to truly announce himself on the big stage.
The 16-year-old Lamine Yamal struck an absolutely stunning goal from 25 yards to bring Spain level after Randal Muani had given France an early lead.
The Barcelona forward’s equaliser makes him the youngest scorer at a major tournament, breaking the record previously held by a 17-year-old Pele who scored at the 1958 World Cup.
Spain had begun the game aggressively, pressing the French backline and creating a few decent chances inside the opening minutes.
But it was France who opened the scoring with their first meaningful attempt at goal. Muani rising high to head a beautifully weighted cross from the other superstar on the field – Kylian Mbappe.
Sans face mask, the Real Madrid-bound forward seemed more at ease and was pulling the strings from the left flank of a front three.
The big surprise of the evening was the omission of Antoine Griezmann from France’s starting XI for the first time at a major tournament in over a decade. He did make a belated entrance as France were chasing the game but was unable to make a pronounced impact.
Spain, too, were missing a few regulars through suspension and injury but it mattered little as the team seems very comfortable as a unit, regardless of individual personnel.
After Yamal’s superlative effort, another of Spain’s rising stars – Dani Olmo – struck to turn the game on its head in the 25th minute.
France did threaten to mount a comeback in the second half but ultimately Deschamp’s men simply could not manufacture enough clear-cut opportunities for Mbappe, Olivier Giroud or Antoine Griezmann to take advantage of.
As the clock ticked down, Spain resorted to keep ball tactics, much to the delight of their supporters with chants of “ole” greeting each successful pass.
Deschamp is France’s most successful coach. But he has been heavily criticised for the drab and unimaginative football on display from the French at Euro 2024, which is perplexing given the amount of talent at his disposal. Calls for his resignation after this defeat will become all the more louder.
Spain is now the only team to win six games in a row at a European championship and have disposed of Italy and host Germany along the way.
They are justifiably red-hot favourites to lift the trophy on Monday morning (3am), regardless of whether it is England or Netherlands that they face.
Upcoming fixture:
England v Netherlands – 3am (July 11)
Main pic credit: AFP/Getty Images
