WHEN it was put to Didier Deschamps that watching the French team may be a bit boring, the coach had come up with a combative suggestion. "If you are bored, please change channels," he had said. "I don't have a problem." For people who went against the advice of the French coach on Tuesday night, they will have gone to sleep with one of the images of the European Championships. Lamine Yamal, who will continue to tick the box named 'minor' in every form for the next year, produced a goal worthy of winning any football match. In the process, Spain progressed to the final, 2-1 winners over Deschamps' 'sufferball'.
If France made their bed with 'sufferball', Spain have added a few grams of magic, lots of pace and given the keys to the future. Here's an example which best illustrates the diverging paths of both teams. While France didn't give a single minute to Warren Zaire Emery, an 18-year-old touted to be the future of French football, Spain made the likes of Yamal and Nico Williams, 21, crucial components of their puzzle.
There is no point in identifying players for the future and preserving them in some liquid if they are good enough to be the present. In Yamal, Spain saw their present. And he delivered with a goal for the ages.
This story is from the July 11, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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This story is from the July 11, 2024 edition of The Morning Standard.
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