Mbappe unmasks but Yamal is not a lamb

(Dan Tri) - Spain's mettle, adaptability, and pragmatism remain question marks ahead of the Euro 2024 semi-finals. And Lamine Yamal and his teammates have given the right answer at the Allianz Arena.

Highlight Spain beat France 2-1 in Euro 2024 semi-finals

Day of records

On November 14, 2009, at the age of 24, Jesus Navas debuted for the Spanish national team. It was a friendly match against Lionel Messi and the Argentine team led by the legendary Diego Maradona. Seven months later in South Africa, few people knew that it was this winger who initiated the attack that led to the goal that brought the World Cup to La Roja by Andres Iniesta. More than two years before Navas debuted for the national team, on July 13, 2007, in Barcelona, a boy named Lamine Yamal cried out at birth. He had the honor of taking a photo with Messi in the 2008 calendar photo album organized and sponsored by Barcelona. That photo is now priceless. Early morning of July 10 (Vietnam time), Navas and Yamal entered the Allianz Arena (Munich, Germany) to participate in the Euro 2024 semi-final against the powerful French team of Kylian Mbappe. Both wrote records.

Jesus Navas is the last player from the generation of Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Torres to participate in Euro 2024 with the Spanish team (Photo: Getty).

At 38 years and 231 days, Jesus Navas became the oldest player ever to play in a Euro or World Cup semi-final, breaking the record of Fritz Walter (Germany) and Gunnar Gren (Sweden), both aged 37 years and 236 days when they faced each other at the 1958 World Cup. This is the tournament where one of the greatest legends in football history was born: King of Football Pele. In the semi-final of this World Cup, against the opponent France, Pele was only 17 years and 244 days, setting the record for the youngest player ever to play in a World Cup or Euro semi-final. Early this morning, the record was broken by Lamine Yamal, aged 16 years and 362 days. And coincidentally, the opponent was still Les Bleus. Time weaves a tapestry of memories, the present, and the future, which is truly magical. However, the records just mentioned are not the most impressive.

When Mbappe unmasks

Entering the first semi-final of Euro 2024, between Spain and France at the Allianz Arena, Kylian Mbappe no longer wore a mask. After breaking his nose in the opening match against Austria, the new Real Madrid star had to wear a mask for protection. That mask made Mbappe miserable. His vision was blocked, sweat could not escape, so his performance was extremely lackluster. Escaping the heavy mask and facing the old man Jesus Navas, Mbappe seemed to find vitality and enthusiasm in every step. In the 7th minute, when Spain enthusiastically entered the game, the captain of the French team gave a warning by accelerating, causing Navas to sweat as he chased after him.

Mbappe lost himself on the day Spain lost to France (Photo: UEFA).

Just a few dozen seconds later, Mbappe did not warn anymore. Receiving the ball on the left wing, the striker's elegant feet found a gap between the center-back and the full-back to hang the ball as if placed on the head of Kolo Muani, his childhood teammate at Bondy. Muani shook his head precisely to score the opening goal, surprising La Roja. After 5 dismal matches, the French team came alive with Mbappe. The advantage of counter-attacking and switching the ball was shown by Les Bleus. It seemed that, taking off the mask, Mbappe was the most outstanding star and the 2022 World Cup runner-up, 2018 World Cup champion became a formidable force. The situation became even more tragic when Navas received a yellow card in the 14th minute, after trying to block Rabiot from passing the ball to Mbappe. Five minutes later, Mbappe again made the Spanish defense falter with a dribble from the wing into the middle and a shot from his signature. It is expected that the 38-year-old Spanish veteran will have to face Real Madrid's new star for another hour...

Yamal's Moment of Genius

In a difficult situation and against an opponent with the most solid defense, Spain could only turn the game around with individual breakthroughs. Lamine Yamal delivered a more than breakthrough performance. It was a moment of genius. In the 21st minute, Yamal received the ball about 25m from the goal, slightly to the right. Adrien Rabiot blocked the young talent playing for Barca's goal, leaving only the door to sublimation. Yamal swung his leg, the ball drew a magical curve. Mike Maignan, the goalkeeper who has blocked 94% of shots at Euro 2024, was completely helpless. The flying move only added to the beauty of the masterpiece. This goal not only helped Spain overcome the danger but also created excitement so that just 4 minutes later, Dani Olmo completed the comeback with another excellent performance.

Yamal's moment of genius helped Spain come back to defeat France (Photo: Reuters).

As for Yamal, after setting the record for the youngest player to play and assist a goal, this teenager also conquered the record for the youngest player to score at the Euro. Not only that, but he also scored a decisive goal in the semi-finals. It is hard to believe that just a year ago, Yamal was playing for Spain U17. This young talent led La Rojita to the championship with 8 goals, including a masterpiece similar to the goal he just scored against France U17 in the final. From U17 to Euro, Yamal's remarkable progress is unexpected. The talent of this player who has not graduated from high school is probably beyond the imagination of Nagelsmann, the coach of the German team, and Adrien Rabiot, the midfielder of the French team. Before the match against Spain, both of them said that they underestimated Yamal because of his age and experience. Both Nagelsmann and Rabiot must now feel ashamed. Yamal is not a lamb.

Spain, portrait of the champion

If Yamal is not a lamb, the Spanish team is even more experienced and experienced. In contrast to the dynamic, direct and enthusiastic attacking performance on the outside, the football that Luis De La Fuente and his team showed after taking the lead against the French team was a calculating and pragmatic football. In other words, although they let go of tiqui-taca (ball control, short passes) but at the right time, La Roja implemented tiqui-tacanaccio (play combining ball control and direct attacks) as pragmatically as their predecessors. We can look at the statistics of the second half to see Spain's calculation. In the last 45 minutes, Rodri and his teammates held the ball up to 60.6%, made more than 100 passes than their opponents (276 compared to 164) but only fired one shot from outside the penalty area and it was not on target.

Spain is the leading candidate for the Euro 2024 championship (Photo: Reuters).

Missed the target because Spain's goal is not to score more goals but to prevent the opponent from scoring. And with their forte in passing, La Roja's way of preventing the opponent from scoring is to keep the ball tight at their feet. Without the ball, how can the French team score?! Spain's tiqui-tacanaccio style of play is most effective because Mbappe and his teammates did not score any more goals. Mbappe, after the first 20 minutes of excitement, returned to his familiar bland image at Euro 2024. Therefore, Spain can be young and fresh with Lamine Yamal or Nico Williams, but when needed, they can still play pragmatically and cunningly to achieve the goal of winning. Only teams that are skillful in improvising and have players who can shine at the right time have hope of winning Euro 2024.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/mbappe-lot-mat-na-nhung-yamal-khong-he-la-cuu-non-20240710084056480.htm