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A tear in the universe opened in the Allianz Arena.
A space suddenly appeared that was not visible to the other 21 players on the pitch, most notably France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, or to the 75,000 fans in the stands. When that happened, Pedri, on the Spanish bench, brought his clasped hands from his neck to his face. He seemed scared by what he had just seen. Frightened by the portal to a new dimension, his teammate Lamine Yamal cut himself with his left foot. The portal to a European Championship final. The portal through which one could glimpse Yamal’s immense potential.
Pedri watches Yamal’s goal in disbelief (BBC)
Time traveled with the ball as it went from outside to inside the far post. Yamal was 13 when the last Euro took place three years ago. He saw Spain with his friends in a shopping center going to Italy in the semi-finals. Dani Olmo, the man of the match in that match, missed a penalty in the shootout. But in Munich, Yamal showed that an alternative reality was possible.
Olmo scored the winner against France. His aim was itself superb for its agility, its elusiveness and its assertion of Spanish technical supremacy. Olmo played with the confidence of someone who has scored three goals in a row. But France was also in a state of sheer disbelief and disorientation.
Four minutes earlier, Yamal had canceled out France’s opener. Until then, it looked like this could be Kylian Mbappe’s night. Mbappe had taken off his mask as a gladiator would throw one on the bloodied sand of the Colosseum floor. A statement of intent. His eyesight was no longer affected by the ‘horrible’ accessory he was forced to wear to protect his broken and bruised nose. Within ten minutes, Mbappe even set up Randal Kolo Muani, a player who famously missed a one-on-one in the 2022 World Cup final, not to mention another against Portugal four days ago, to finally score .
During this tournament we have become used to the fact that no one comes back against France. At least they don’t hear that. The only goal Maignan had conceded so far was a penalty from Yamal’s teammate at Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski, in the 1–1 draw against Poland. Maignan had saved Lewandowski’s first attempt, but the referee ordered it to be recaptured for infringement. Defeating him would take something very special. Something out of this world. “We were in a difficult moment,” Yamal acknowledged. “No one expected to concede a goal so early.”
When a Fabian Ruiz roulette ended in a tangle thirty yards from goal, Yamal collected the loose ball and moved to puncture the enthusiasm behind the French goal. “I picked the ball up and didn’t think about it. I tried to put it where it was going, and I’m just really happy.”
Against him was the French giraffe-like midfielder Adrien Rabiot. Yamal clearly felt he had to wring his neck. On the eve of the match, Rabiot had said: “We have seen that he is a player who can handle stress very well. He has many playing qualities for his club. and in a major tournament. We know what it’s made of. He keeps a cool head, but at a major tournament it can be difficult to reach a semi-final. It’s up to us to put pressure on him, but we want him to get out of his comfort zone. If you want to play a European Championship final, you have to do more than he has done so far.”
Yamal responded on Instagram with a post of a hand moving a pawn on a chessboard. “Move in silence,” read the caption. “Speak only when it is time to say ‘checkmate’.” Yamal let his left foot do the talking. His move came in the 21st minute. Yamal initially hid the ball by wrapping his left foot around it to pass outside Rabiot, only to reveal it again by pushing it in with the outside of the same boot.
Rabiot moved back and forth like an Arctic crab. He threw a claw when Yamal wanted to shoot, but Rabiot didn’t catch any of the ball. Neither does Maignan. He covered his target as best he could. The AC Milan goalkeeper’s gloved hand shaded the top corner but could not shut out the sun, the light of Yamal’s talent. “Habla! Habla!” Yamal shouted at Rabiot. “Conversation! Conversation!” All the Frenchman’s talk had been cheap. Yamal’s attack, on the other hand, was invaluable. “We saw a touch of genius,” said Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente.
It is common to hear people say that perfection does not exist. That it is impossible. But Yamal’s shot challenged that idea. “His shot was wonderful,” Didier Deschamps praised. It made Yamal, at 16 years and 362 days, the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship. On the eve of the final, he turns 17. The only gift Yamal wanted, he said, was “just win, win, win.” My goal was to be able to celebrate my birthday here in Germany. And I am very happy to celebrate this here with the team.” He then added: “I told my mother that she doesn’t have to buy me a gift if we manage to win the final.”
As Yamal turned and ran towards the delighted Spanish bench, sliding to his knees in a state of euphoria, memories of a very similar goal the Barcelona winger scored against Mallorca flashed before the eyes of the Catalan journalists in the press box. But this was better. For the occasion. Because of the way Mbappe puffs out his cheeks with a look of awe and helplessness. “I don’t know if this is the best goal of the tournament,” said Yamal. “But for me it is the most special.”
Maignan is powerless to stop Yamal (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)
Yamal’s portrayal will be condensed into the analysis of a moment. However, Rodri went into more detail. “I personally went to Lamine and congratulated him on his achievement,” he said. “People will remember the game for his goal and what he did is something that only a chosen few can do. But I personally thanked him for his defensive efforts. The recovery, the tracking, how he helped the full-back. It was excellent for a man his age. Personally, I really appreciate this.”
At the end of the match, the Spanish players huddled together and jumped up and down to celebrate reaching the final. Yamal initially stood apart from them, closer to the center line, like a star from a galaxy far, far away.
(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)