Spain beat France in thriller to reach Nations League final

Lamine Yamal played a starring role as Spain defeated France to set up a Nations League final with Portugal.

The Barcelona youngster helped give his country a 5-1 lead in Germany before France attempted to stage a grandstand comeback.

'Les Bleus' scored three times in 11 minutes as they rallied to try and force the game to extra-time but the damage was already done.

bet365's Sports and Trading expert Steve Freeth said: "We had already paid out on Spain after 25 minutes when Mikel Merino had put them 2-0 up with our ‘Early Payout Offer’ but we felt we were in a decent position with the clock passing the 50-minute mark – a big mistake!

"The final 35 minutes or so was pure agony as we watched every big-name player bar Ousmane Dembele either score or assist and then his replacement, Randal Kolo Muani, came on to score in injury time, assisted by fellow substitute Rayan Cherki, who had come on for the popular Michael Olise!

"That had bet365 customers jumping for joy thanks to our Sub On, Play On concession.

"This extraordinary match resulted in the worst Bet Builder result in our history, surpassing the losses incurred in the 2022 World Cup final by a considerable margin."

Goals from Nico Williams and Arsenal's Mikel Merino put Spain 2-0 up before Yamal won and converted a penalty to put his side three goals to the good.

Pedri made it four before France finally replied through Kylian Mbappe after the Real Madrid forward converted from the spot.

But it was Yamal, yet again, who appeared to put the result in no doubt with a right-foot finish that evaded the grasp of Mike Maignan.

The game changed when the sought after Rayan Cherki entered the pitch, however.

Cherki - who is a reported target for several Premier League clubs this summer - produced a wonderful volley just 15 minutes into his international debut to make it 5-2.

Vivian then put one through his own net to narrow the gap further, before Cherki produced a magnificent cross for Randal Kolo Muani to head home for the ninth and final goal of the game.

5-4 it finished, sending Spain into a blockbuster UEFA Nations League final against Portugal where Yamal will meet Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time.

He is a football legend. I, like all the players, have huge respect for Cristiano.

Yamal said when asked about his impending face-off with Ronaldo.

Adding: "I will do my job, which is to try to win, and that is it."

Ronaldo netted his 137th international goal as he sent Portugal to a second Nations League final in their history just 24 hours earlier.

It was actually the first time Ronaldo had managed to defeat Germany in his 22-year international career with all five previous meetings heading the way of 'Die Mannschaft'.

The 40-year-old is a five-time Ballon d'Or winner himself but Sunday's final may usher in a new era with Yamal second-favourite to scoop football's greatest individual prize.

Ousmane Dembele is the current 8/15 market leader after enjoying a stellar season with Paris Saint-Germain.

Formerly of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund - Dembele has directly contributed to 48 goals in 49 matches with PSG as well as lifting the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 titles.

William Dobbie

• Spain Men's Football Team
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