UK (Commonwealth) _ Following a strong start and a goal by Roland Kolo Muani for France, the 16-year-old shocked Les Bleus by scoring the youngest goal in the tournament’s history with a stunning strike out of the blue.
Four minutes after Yamal’s dramatic 21-minute intervention, Dani Olmo scored the game-winning goal. Didier Deschamps was stunned. The Barcelona winger did not reach the back of the net for himself until today, but he did set up goals for teammates in the victories over Croatia, Georgia, and Germany.
Player of the match Yamal told the media that he merely received the ball when we were down a goal and didn’t give it much thought before shooting at goal. Being just sixteen, I’m not giving it much thought; instead, I’m just having fun and am happy to be in the final.
The forward, who debuted for Barcelona at the age of 15 in the 2022–2023 season, has advanced with almost every game and grown to be an important member of his squad.
It’s the same with Spain, where Ahmed is now a vital member of La Roja despite having played in just 13 matches for his nation. The last one occurred on a steamy evening in Bavaria, where he created history by scoring what was maybe the tournament’s most important goal.
“What we have witnessed is the creation of a genius,” said Luis de la Fuente, the coach of Spain, in awe. “He is fortunate to be Spanish, and we will get to enjoy him for a long time.
Yamal vs Messi
Yamal plays a clever but restrained style, using his skills more as a way to make room for himself than as a means of bragging. He generally makes wise choices, but he also electrifies the audience with spectacular dribbles.
He shares that quality with a player he idolized growing up, former Barcelona great Lionel Messi. A photograph of the Argentina attacker nursing a baby Yamal surfaced last week. It was from a 2007 charity calendar that Barcelona players were featured in. It is really unbelievable.
Sharing the shot on Instagram, Yamal’s father Mounir Nasraoui commented, “The beginning of two legends.” Mounir is younger than Spain’s 38-year-old right-back Jesus Navas, who made his debut against France.
Despite being 29 years old, France midfielder Adrien Rabiot had the audacity to take on a record-breaking player who seemed unfazed by any obstacle in his path. Before the match, Rabiot stated, “(We have to) show him that to play in a Euros final, he will have to perform much more than what he has done so far.” Hours before accomplishing just that by eliminating France on the field, Yamal shared a picture on Instagram with the message, “Move in silence, only speak when it is time to say checkmate”.
Yamal’s deft movement and quickness gained him the room to shoot and allowed him to lose Rabiot for his incredible goal. In the second half, the youthful player came dangerously close to scoring another when he managed to shake off Theo Hernandez and miss by a whisker.
Gaining more lethality in front of goal is the one area he still has to work on, but it will happen eventually. In the closing moments of the game, the winger received a card for bringing Hernandez back to prevent the French defense from breaking. It was a cynical but wise move, and it demonstrated his maturity beyond his years.
People will discuss Lamine’s goal and his impressive appearance; he is 16 years old and has a bright future ahead of him, but I’m really pleased of him. I gave him credit for his dedication to defense, since he played a really full game and was always supportive,” midfielder Rodri stated.
On July 13, the day before the Berlin final against either England or the Netherlands, Yamal will turn seventeen. What kind of gift does he want? “To win, to win, to win,” Yamal said. “It was my objective, to reach my birthday still in Germany.”
Who is Yamal?
Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana is a right winger for both the Spanish national team and La Liga side Barcelona. He is thought to be among the world’s greatest young talents. Lamine Yamal represented Spain at the youth level, having competed for the U15 and U16 squads. He played for the Spanish U17 team at the 2023 European U17 Championship, where Lamine scored four goals.
On September 1, 2023, coach Luis de la Fuente called up Lamine for his first senior international call-up at the age of 16 years and 50 days, for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Georgia and Cyprus.Aside from this, Lamine surpassed Welsh player Gareth Bale, who scored at the age of 17 years, 83 days, to become the youngest goal scorer in a Euro qualification match.
