Spain survived by the teeth against France in the UEFA Nations League semi final. What started out as an easy game for Spain almost turned into a calamity.
Spain managed to get past France in the UEFA Nations League semi finals as the scoreline ended 5-4 in Spain’s favour. The scoreline looks respectable and it depicts what exactly transpired in the game, however, it doesn’t tell the full story.
Spain dominated for most of the game. In the first half they didn’t put a foot wrong. In the first 20 minutes, the game seemed equal but in the space of five minutes, the Spanish national team were two goals up with goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Merino. France created a few opportunities to put themselves back in the game but they were denied promptly by Unai Simon.
The second half was a different tale. Spain began where they left off in the first half. Yamal was fouled in the box by Rabiot and the referee gave a penalty. He converted the spot kick and gave Spain a 3-0 lead. Just a minute after Yamal’s goal, Pedri made it 4-0.
France would get a goal back through a penalty from Kylian Mbappe who was fouled by Pedro Porro. He converted his spot kick and gave the French what at first, looked like a consolation.
If France thought the game would end after they scored one, Yamal made them think again. He got onto a long ball from the defense and within seconds, he was in front of goal. He didn’t bow to pressure from the defender, making his way into the box and poking it beyond Maignan to make it 5-1 in Spain’s favour.
You would’ve thought the game was over but everything changed when France brought on Rayan Cherki. He completely changed the game. He scored just 15 minutes after being on the pitch. He got what was the best goal of the night, using his chest to bring down a pass and banging the ball into the top corner.
He also engineered the passage of play that led to the own goal by Vivian in the 84th minute. While Spain were trying to catch their breath, France almost made it 5-4 through Kolo Muani but he missed by a very small margin. Kolo Muani would go on to score in the 93rd minute to make the game 5-4.
This time, the goal was a little too late as France didn’t have enough time to complete the comeback and the game ended 5-4 in favour of Spain. The Spanish national team will face Portugal in the final on June 8.
