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A rift in space opened up at the Allianz Arena.
Suddenly, a space appeared that was invisible to the other 21 players on the pitch, especially France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, and the 75,000 fans in the stands. As it appeared, Pedri, on the Spain bench, brought his clenched hands up to his neck and to his face. He looked horrified by what he had just witnessed, by the entrance to a new dimension, cut in with his left foot by team-mate Lamine Yamal. An entrance to a Euro final. An entrance that offered a glimpse of Yamal's immense potential.
Pedri watches in disbelief as Yamal scores (BBC)
As the ball moved from the outside to the inside of the goalpost, time moved with it. Three years ago, Yamal was 13 when the last Euros were held. He was with friends in a shopping centre watching Spain lose to Italy in the semi-finals. Dani Olmo, the man of the match, missed a penalty in the shootout. But in Munich, Yamal showed that another reality was possible.
Olmo scored the winner against France. His goal was a marvel in itself: its dexterity, its elusiveness, its testament to Spain's technical superiority. Olmo was playing with the confidence of a player who had scored in three consecutive games. But France, too, was in a state of utter disbelief and confusion.
Four minutes earlier, Yamal had cancelled out France's lead. Until then, it had seemed as though this night might be Kylian Mbappé's. He discarded his mask like a gladiator would on the bloody, sandy Colosseum. It was a gesture. His vision was no longer hindered by the “horrible” accessory he'd been forced to wear to protect his broken and bruised nose. Less than 10 minutes later, Mbappé finally scored against Randall Kolo Muani, the player he famously missed one-on-one in the 2022 World Cup final and again against Portugal four days earlier.
We've gotten used to no one coming back from behind against France in this tournament. At least, they're not going to. The only goal Magnian has conceded so far was a penalty scored by Yamal's Barcelona teammate Robert Lewandowski in a 1-1 draw with Poland. Magnian saved Lewandowski's initial shot but the referee ordered a replay for intrusion. It would take something truly special, something otherworldly, to beat him. “We were in a difficult situation,” Yamal admitted. “No one expected us to concede so soon.”
When Fabian Ruiz's roulette got tangled 30 yards from goal, Yamal picked up the loose ball and tried to break the frenzy behind the France goal: “When I picked up the ball, I didn't think about it, I just tried to put it where it was going to go. I'm very happy.”
Up against him was the giraffe-like France midfielder Adrien Rabiot. Clearly, Yamal thought he needed to be put on the line. On the eve of the match, Rabiot said: “We have seen that he is a player who handles stress well. He has a lot of qualities to play for a club and in major tournaments. We know what kind of player he is. He keeps his cool, but a major semi-final might be difficult to deal with. It's up to us to put pressure on him, but we want him to get out of his comfort zone. If he wants to play in a Euro final he needs to do more than he has done so far.”
Yamal responded on Instagram with an image of his hand moving a pawn on a chessboard. The caption read, “Shut up and move. Only speak when you say 'checkmate.'” Yamal did the talking with his left foot. His move came in the 21st minute. Yamal first wrapped up the ball with his left foot and stepped outside Rabiot to hide it, but then tucked it in with the outside of the same boot to expose it again.
Rabiot swayed from side to side like an Arctic crab. When Yamal tried to shoot, he stuck out his claws, but Rabiot couldn't catch the ball. Same with Maignan. He defended his goal with all his might. The AC Milan goalkeeper's gloved hands obscured the top corner but could not block the light of Yamal's genius. “Habura! Habra!” Yamar shouted at Rabiot. “Speak! Speak!” All the Frenchman's talk was cheap. Yamal's shot, on the other hand, was priceless. “We saw a glimpse of genius,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.
We often hear people say that perfection doesn’t exist, that it’s unattainable. But Yamal’s shots challenged that idea. “His shots were “wonderful” Didier Deschamps was full of praise. At 16 years and 362 days, Yamal is the youngest goalscorer in Europa League history. He turns 17 on the eve of the final. The only present Yamal wants, he said, is “just to win, win, win.” “My goal was to celebrate my birthday in Germany and I'm very happy to be able to celebrate it here with the team,” he added. “I told my mother that if we win the final, she won't need to buy me a present.”
As Yamal turned and ran towards the ecstatic Spanish bench, sliding down to his knees in ecstasy, the Catalan journalists in the press box were reminded of a very similar goal the Barcelona winger had scored against Mallorca. But this one was better. This time, Mbappe puffed out his cheeks and looked awed and helpless. “I don't know if it's the best goal of the tournament,” Yamal said, “but for me it's the most special one.”
Maignan can't stop Yamal (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)
Yamal's play will likely be summed up in a moment-to-moment analysis, but Rodri went further. “I personally went to Rameen and praised his performance,” he said. “People will remember this game for his goal. What he did is something only a select few can do. But I personally appreciated his commitment in defence: the recovery, the return to the back, the support for the full-back. It was outstanding play for his age. I personally really value this.”
At the end of the match, as the Spanish players huddled together and jumped up and down in celebration of reaching the final, Yamal stood apart at first, standing near the halfway line like a star from a galaxy far, far away.
(Top photo: James Gill – Dane House/Getty Images)
