Spain were losing to France but a quick turnaround saw them reach the European Championship final

The first semi-final match of this year’s European Football Championship was played between Spain and France. The Gallic country took the lead in the beginning, but the Iberian team soon made a crucial turnaround. After twelve years, the three-time European champions have another title within their grasp.

• The Spaniards, without three players in the starting line-up, turned the score around in the first half
• In the second half, they maintained their lead
• Playing in the final for the first time since 2012, they can achieve a record triumph

The Spaniards entered Tuesday’s important match in Munich with some unpleasant absences. Midfielder Pedri was unable to play due to injury, while defenders Carvajal and Le Normand were unable to play because of card penalties. In the starting line-up, Navas and Fernández appeared in the defensive line and Olmo in the central line.

The first big chance of the match came after five minutes from their teammate Ruiz, who headed just over the crossbar after Yamal’s centre. Before the end of the opening ten minutes, the score changed, but on the other side.

Randal Kolo Muani scored France’s first goal of the tournament from open play, but the Spanish goalkeeper failed to reach his header after Mbappé’s assist. The validity of the leading shot was then confirmed by VAR.

In the 21st minute, the game was levelled as the youngest footballer on the pitch and in the history of European championships in general scored. Lamine Yamal, who did not shy away from several defending players, shot from outside the box and sent the ball into the net thanks to a rebound off the bar.

Four minutes later, the Spaniards were already ahead. Dani Olmo cleverly evaded his opponents in the penalty area, shot and Jules Koundé knocked the ball into his own net. However, the statisticians eventually awarded the penalty to the original scorer.

The rest of the half also offered quite interesting attacking football, but no one, including France captain Mbappé, who this time did without a mask protecting his broken nose, made any more headway.

After the break, the first goalkeeping saves of the game came. In the 53rd minute, Unai Simón saved a header attempt by Tchouaméni, in the 56th minute he saved a header attempt by Tchouaméni. Mike Mignan deflected Williams’ finish. A good opportunity was then wasted in the 63rd minute by Upamecano’s inaccurate header.

The French, of course, also tried to attack and threaten the Spanish backline in the next phase of the encounter. The substitutions helped them to do so, with strikers such as Griezmann and Giroud taking to the pitch. However, their opponents also showed some other promising offensive actions.

However, the 2-1 scoreline held until the end and the Spanish national team will play the Euro finals for the first time in twelve years. On Sunday, they will be aiming for a record fourth triumph. They will face either England or the Netherlands for the title.

Source: UEFA, CT Sport