Spain wins hard against France, sets two records: How the first Euro semi-final went

The Spanish national team beat France and reached the final of the European Football Championship for the fifth time in history. This was reported by a correspondent of Lenta.ru.

This is the second result, the leader in the number of participations in the decisive matches of the continental championship is the German team, which reached the finals of the Euro six times. At the current tournament, the Germans were stopped by the Spaniards, now they will have a chance to become European champions for the fourth time.

France score first open play goal of tournament

In the ninth minute, French forward Randal Kolo Muani scored. Kylian Mbappe, who came onto the field without a protective mask, made an accurate pass to his teammate, who headed the ball into the net from close range. Previously, the French team scored in the tournament either from a penalty or thanks to own goals.

Spain quickly recovered from the goal conceded, and 12 minutes later Lamin Yamal restored parity with a beautiful curling shot from outside the penalty area. The Spaniard set a record by becoming the youngest scorer in the history of the Euro. The attacking midfielder turns 17 on July 13, and he significantly improved on the record set by Switzerland’s Johan Vonlanthen at Euro 2004.

The Spanish team went into the break with an advantage in the score. Shortly after Yamal’s goal, Dani Olmo scored. For the Spanish attacking midfielder, this was the third goal of the tournament, he also made two assists.

Jesus Navas sets record

The 38-year-old Spanish defender became the oldest footballer in history to play in the Euro semi-finals. The previous record belonged to Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. He set it at the 2008 continental championship. The Spaniard beat this record by three days.

Navas scored two negative goals in the opening period of the game. First, he failed to prevent Mbappe from making an assist to Kolo Muani, and then he received a yellow card for a rough foul. Navas was substituted in the 58th minute.

A notorious referee was appointed for the second semi-final match

The England vs. Netherlands match was entrusted to a team of referees led by German Felix Zwayer, which caused discontent among some fans and experts. The fact is that at the dawn of his refereeing career in 2004, the referee was caught accepting a bribe of 300 euros. At that time, he was officiating matches in the lower leagues of Germany as a linesman. As a result, Zwayer was disqualified for six months.

That scandal did not stop the referee from starting to officiate Bundesliga matches in 2009, and three years later, he received FIFA referee status. In 2021, Zwayer was again at the center of a scandal: his work at the match against Bayern was criticized by England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who played for Borussia Dortmund. He recalled the story of fixed matches, for which he was fined 40 thousand euros. Zwayer took a break from refereeing, but then returned.

On July 10, Zwayer will face Bellingham on the pitch, and the winner of the match will play Spain in the final on July 14. The decisive match will be held in Berlin.