Lamine Yamal etched his name in history with a record-breaking goal before Dani Olmo fired Spain into the Euro 2024 final with a 2-1 victory over France.
Yamal produced a remarkable long-range equaliser shortly after Randal Kolo Muani's ninth-minute opener in Tuesday's first semi-final in Munich, the 16-year-old becoming the youngest scorer at a major tournament in history.
In-form Olmo then delivered the decisive strike midway through the opening half, manufacturing space inside Les Bleus' area before squeezing a low effort home.
Didier Deschamps' side had been unconvincing before this last-four meeting, and though they improved in the second half, they were unable to find a leveller as Spain teed up a meeting with either the Netherlands or England.
Luis de la Fuente's Roja entered this clash as the only team to win all five games at the tournament (including extra time), and another dominant start saw them go close within five minutes.
Yamal was afforded far too much time to clip towards the back post for an unmarked Fabian Ruiz, who could only head over with Mike Maignan's goal at his mercy.
Yet France struck the first blow just three minutes later when the now-unmasked Kylian Mbappe stood up Jesus Navas before delivering from the left for Kolo Muani to head past the helpless Unai Simon.
Yamal single-handedly dragged La Roja back into the contest, however, shifting the ball away from Adrien Rabiot before curling a sumptuous strike into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Spurred on by that historic moment, Spain completed the turnaround within four further minutes as Olmo pounced on Navas' half-cleared cross before finishing past Maignan, with Jules Kounde unable to clear on the line.
Maignan was somewhat fortunate moments after the interval, mindlessly racing towards the touchline to challenge Nico Williams, who would have been clean through without the goalkeeper's questionable lunge.
Les Bleus improved from then on, though, with a free Aurelien Tchouameni heading straight at Simon from Ousmane Dembele's right-sided corner after 52 minutes.
Theo Hernandez wasted a gilt-edged opportunity to equalise with 15 minutes remaining, blazing over from the edge of the area before Mbappe followed suit 10 minutes later, as Spain held on to reach their fifth Euros final.
Spain toast new king Yamal
At the age of 16 years and 362 days, Yamal made history by becoming the youngest-ever player to appear in a semi-final at a major international tournament, a record previously held by Brazil's Pele (17 years, 244 days versus France at the 1958 World Cup).
Yet the Barcelona winger was not satisfied with that record, delivering a remarkable leveller to surpass Pele – who found the net aged 17 years and 239 days against Wales at the 1958 World Cup – as the youngest scorer in history at either major tournament.
His teenage brilliance helped inspire Spain to their sixth straight win at the Euros, a feat never achieved by any team previously, while La Roja are also the first side to win six matches in a single European Championship tournament (including extra time, but not penalties).
However, Yamal cannot take all the credit as Olmo – with three goals and two assists – became the first Spain player to manage five-plus goal contributions at a single tournament since David Silva during their victorious Euro 2012 campaign (two goals, three assists).
One French problem solved, another found
Deschamps may have been over the moon to finally see a French player score from open play at the tournament, with Kolo Muani's headed opener Les Bleus' first goal to not come from the penalty spot or an own goal.
That strike came from France's 87th non-penalty attempt at Euro 2024, and somewhat repaid the faith of Deschamps, with Kolo Muani scoring his fourth goal when starting for Les Bleus as opposed to just one strike from the bench.
The joy was short-lived, however, as France then conceded twice within the opening 25 minutes – more goals than they allowed in their first five matches at Euro 2024 combined (one, a penalty against Poland).
A rapid turnaround marked the first time France had taken a 1-0 lead but trailed by half-time in European Championship history, and that first-half collapse proved decisive.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
Slot hopes Jones 'recovers fast' after limping off against Betis
Arne Slot says Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury, after the midfielder was forced off during the Reds' 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
The Dutchman oversaw his first win since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the only goal in Pittsburgh.
It was the first match of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States, though it remains to be seen how much of a part Jones will play after he limped off on the half-hour mark.
However, Slot said the decision to withdraw the midfielder was precautionary.
"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Maybe he could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100%.
"In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. We hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.
"It's always a pity if he has to go off after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that, you could see that he was not completely free.
"It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions, so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go off.
Trey Nyoni replaced Jones for the remainder of the game, and Slot was pleased by the 17-year-old's impact.
"The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards.
"I think [Trey] did really well today, but it was only an hour. He was one of the reasons why we scored the goal, because he turned really quickly and [played] a spot-on pass in between the lines. And he was also involved in the biggest chance in the second half.
"We are really careful with him. So he doesn't join every session, and sometimes he goes off a bit earlier. You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.
I think there were a few positive things and, of course, a few things we have to improve. But the positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. I think we only conceded one big chance and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game.
"So, we controlled the game really well and, in between, we had a few good attacks where we created a few good chances and scored a good goal."
Young Reggae Boyz blanked 3-0 by Cuba to end Concacaf U-20 Champs pointless
Jamaica’s young Reggae Boyz ended their failed Concacaf Men's Under-20 Championship campaign without a goal or a point after a 0-3 loss to Cuba in their final Group A fixture at the Estadio Leon in Mexico on Friday.
With the victory, Cuba finished third in the group on four points and booked their spot in the quarterfinal round as one of the two best third-place teams. They join group winners United States, who finished with maximum nine points following their 1-0 win over runners-up Costa Rica (four points).
The Jamaicans were again undone by poor defending and a lack of offensive intent, which basically summed up their presence in the tournament, as they showed very little quality from the start.
In fact, they had a slim opportunity to bring their campaign to life but needed to beat Cuba to make it possible. Instead, it was the Spanish-speaking Caribbean team that marched on, as Michael Camejo dazzled Jamaica’s defence with nippy footwork before firing home in the 35th minute.
Cuba doubled their lead in the 42nd courtesy of David Perez, who capitalised on a defensive error.
Romain Blake got Jamaica’s lone attempt on target in the 47th, but was denied by Yurdy Hodelin.
Karel Pérez then wrapped up victory for Cuba when he converted from the penalty spot in the 86th.
Cuba will face the Group B winner, Honduras, in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, United States, through an all-important strike from Nikolas Tsakiris, his second of the tournament, saw off 10-man Costa Rica.
After Aiden Harangi’s early effort was denied by the crossbar, Tsakiris then found the game’s solitary goal in the 37th to ensure three-time champions United States remained unbeaten heading into the knockout stage.
Costa Rica lost Alberth Barahona to a straight red card in the 50th minute.
United States, the reigning champions, will square off against the best third-place team from either Group B or C in the quarterfinal.
Elsewhere, Canada and Honduras also booked their spots in the quarterfinal after contrasting 2-1 and 5-2 victories over El Salvador and Dominican Republic in their final Group B encounters at the Sergio Leon Chavez Stadium.
Both Canada and Honduras ended on seven points each, but the latter secured top spot by virtue of a superior goal difference.
Canada await the runner-up of Group C.
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