Lamine Yamal becomes youngest male footballer to play in major international tournament final
Jul 14, 2024
Berlin [Germany], July 15 : Spanish attacker Lamine Yamal became the youngest male footballer to play in a major international tournament final as the Spaniard is named in the starting lineup of the EURO 2024 final.
In the final match of EURO 2024, Spain will take on England at the Olymiastadion Berlin.
Currently, Yamal is 17 years and 1 day old and has surpassed legendary footballer Pele's record of being the youngest male player to play in a major international tournament final.
In 1958, Pele featured in the World Cup final, when Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm to get hold of the prestigious trophy. He scored two goals in that final against Sweden.
Spain confirmed their spot in the final in the tournament after beating France 2-1 in the first semi-final match. Meanwhile, England beat Netherlands 1-2 in the second semi-final match with the help of Ollie Watkins' late goal.
Gareth Southgate's men write their names in the history book as the Three Lions are set to play a final of a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time. The team also is now one step closer to ending their 58-year wait to win a major tournament.
England confirmed their spot in the final of the marquee tournament for the second consecutive time. Last time in EURO 2020, England faced Italy in the final game but failed to get hold of the trophy after a heartbreaking defeat on penalties.
Recapping the Three Lions' previous match against Netherlands, the game started with the Netherlands dominating the first ten minutes of the match. Xavi Simons gave an early lead to the Dutch after his stunning goal outside the English box. Simons picked the ball on the left side of the box and drove it towards the penalty box before unleashing a stunner.
Harry Kane delivered for England after he scored the equaliser in the 18th minute. Kane placed the ball towards the left side of the box, and even though the Dutch goalkeeper jumped on the right side, he had no chance to save the shot.
Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal in the dying moments of the match in the added minutes of the second half. Watkins turned well in the right side of the Dutch box after receiving the ball from Cole Palmer and placed a shot towards the goal from an acute angle, which was impossible for the Netherlands goalkeeper to save it.
