And breathe! Spain are into the Nations League final with Portugal after beating France 5-4 in the semifinal in Stuttgart.
And breathe! Spain are into the Nations League final with Portugal after beating France 5-4 in the semifinal in Stuttgart.
My oh my! Nine goals in the game....Randal Kolo Muani header makes it 5-4 on the night! Nail biting in the Spanish camp.
Five minutes added on.
Randal Kolo Muani is teed up by Bradley Barcola but the on-loan Juventus forward hits it in the stands.
Dani Vivian scores into his own net thanks to a Malo Gusto low cross to give Les Bleus some glimmer of hope.
Theo Hernandez is booked for fouling Lamine Yamal as we head into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Rayan Cherki, who is linked with a move to Man City, hits a pearler of goal. The French fans at the back applaud the effort.
Spain gift Kylian Mbappe to score but it's not his best effort and Unai Simon saves. And amidst that, the Les Bleus bring on Randal Kolo Muani for Ousmane Dembele.
France forward Ousmane Dembele hits the post as Les Bleus almost score their second goal of the evening.
Lamine Yamal! Remember the name.....The 17-year-old gets his second goal of the game as Spain but the game finally to bed with a 5-1 lead on the night.
France: Kalulu, Doue and Olise are replaced by Barcola, Gusto and Cherki
Spain: Williams and Pedri go off as Ruiz and Olmo make way
Oh my! Desire Doue shot goes agonizingly wide off Spain's goal. France coach Didier Deschamps cannot believe it that the PSG forward did not put that in. Huge letoff!
Pedro Porro pulls down Kylian Mbappe and Oliver points to the spot. VAR check on. But the decision stands and the French skipper converts it coolly. 1-4!
France are all over the shop and their lethargic display has been taken advantage of by Spain as the European Champions add fourth goal of the evening thanks to Pedri. Mike Maignan must be seething with rage.
Wow! France concede a penalty as Adrien Rabiot fouls Lamine Yamal and Michael Oliver turns to the spot! Despite VAR check, the decision stands.
Lamine Yamal sends the French goalie the wrong way as he converts from the spot to give Spain 3-0 lead!
A nice interchange between Theo Hernandez and Desire Doue as the former fires in a low cross but Dembele arrives late and another chance goes begging for the French.
France debutant Pierre Kalulu plays a fine low ball across the six-yard box but no French player is to meet at the end of it.
La Roja are 2-0 up in the semi-final and are will take some indomitable effort from France to overturn this deficit.
France have had few chances but are not able to convert them into goals as Spain go into the first-half break with a 2-0 lead. It's looking Spain vs Portugal in the finals unless Les Bleus turn it around in the second half.
The newly signed Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen scores but to his amazement, it is ruled offside. That would have been one goal of the season, if it wasn't ruled offside!
Kone finds a pocket of space for Ousmane Dembele as he looks to dink over Unai Simon but the latter produces a good save but it is offside anyways.
Didier Deschamps looks worried on the sideline as he sees his side 0-2 down to Spain. The WC runners-up need some bright moments as Dembele brings Simon into action yet again. France need more such moments, if they are to have their say in this game.
Pedro Porro loses the ball and Desire Doue grabs the opportunity as he tries to attack but is fouled by Lamine Yamal. The referee makes no mistake and books him.
Finally France call Unai Simon into action as Desire Doue tries to curl one in but Simon is equal to it and keeps the ball out of the net.
Wow! France are reeling and how! Spain are all over the Les Bleus as Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal interchange around the French box. Oyarzabal flicks the ball over the top only for the Arsenal player to run and slam into the bottom corner.
GOAAAL!! Nico Williams scores as the European Champions open the scoring. The Athletic Bilbao forward lashes in with his left-foot to give his side the lead and send their fans into delirium.
Nico Williams is unmarked on the left before getting into the box and taking a shot. Maingan gets down fast and makes a good save.
France are having much of the ball and Spain are sitting deep in their half. Mbappe and Doue are really tormenting the Spanish defenders and the European Champs will need to stop them, if they are to avoid letting in a goal.
France are having ample of chances and now Theo Hernandez comes close as his effort hits the crossbar.
Unai Simon to the rescue! A mistake in the middle of the park from Spain allows France to break with Ousmane Dembele as he tees back to Kylian Mbappe, but the French skipper cuts back only for the Spanish goalie to thwart the attack.
France have a shot of their own as Theo Hernandez has a long-range effort that goes wide off the post. Early warning signs from the French.
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella receiving some boos from the fans tonight, probably Germans and French.
And we are off in Stuttgart as Spain and France get things underway. Expect some fireworks tonight, especially the amount of talent at either ends.
The national anthem of France plays first, followed by Spain바카라™s. Kick-off soon.
Champions League winner with PSG, Desire Doue starts for France in the semis whereas Lamine Yamal will hog the headlines once again. The battle between these two GenNext talents, will be one to watch out for, tonight!
Spain바카라™s substitutes
Raya, Remiro, Cubarsi, Vivian, Morata, Fabian Ruiz, Gavi, Olmo, Mingueza, Pino, Alex Baena, Grimaldo, Isco, Fermin Lopez, Samu
France바카라™s substitutes:
Samba, Chevalier, Pavard, Digne, Bade, Guendouzi, Tchouameni, Thuram, Kolo Muani, Gusto, Zaire-Emery, Barcola, L Hernandez, Cherki
바카라śThis Spain team has already shown their quality, and they are the best side in Europe and probably the best in the world. They also may have a few players who are fresher. But still, my team always has the ability to maintain a strong collective and technical rhythm."
바카라śWe have in this tournament the three previous winners of the Nations League, three previous World Cup winners, and a previous Euro winner. So you certainly can바카라™t call it a minor tournament, and we place huge importance upon it.
바카라śWe will give it everything, and we want to make history by becoming the first team to win the Nations League twice."
Portugal, who won the inaugural edition of the Nations League in 2018-19, will face Spain or France in Sunday's final after fighting back for a 2-1 semi-final win in Munich.
Read report HERE
Spain Playing XI: Unai Simon, Mingueza, Cubarsi, Huijsen, Cucurella, Pedri, Ruiz, Yamal, Olmo, Williams, Morata
France Playing XI: Maignan, Gusto, Konate, Lucas Hernandez, Digne, Tchouameni, Kone, Rabiot, Olise, Mbappe, Kolo Muani
Matches played: 37
Matches won by Spain: 17
Matches won by France: 13
Draws: 7