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He took off his uncomfortable mask, but 'football power' did not return.
The French national soccer team, led by Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), was defeated 1-2 in the semi-finals of the Euro 2024 against Spain in the Fusbal Arena Munich, Germany on the 10th (Korea time).
Mbappe, who won France's first title in 20 years at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a year after making his national team debut in 2017, and finished second at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after winning the European Nations League in the 2020-2021 season, postponed his career dream of winning his first Euro to the next.
Unlike a superstar who is expected by the whole nation, he lost face due to a terrible slump. Mbappe, who suffered a central injury in a collision with the opponent's defense in the first group match against Austria, returned wearing a face mask, but failed to show his ability due to problems such as obstruction of vision.
Mbappe eventually suffered the humiliation of not scoring a single goal with a field goal even though he shot a total of 23 shots, including that day, at this tournament. Since the 1980 record tally, he has become the player who has failed to score a goal with the most shots since Decu (Portugal), who failed to shake the net with 24 shots at Euro 2004. He beat Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nasr), who failed to score a goal with 23 shots.
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He may be comforted that he scored a 'euro debut goal' with a penalty kick against Poland in the final group match. The final record for this year's event is one goal and two assists in 464 minutes in five games. France has increased its Euro-free capacity to 24 years since Euro 2000. He failed to advance to the finals for two consecutive tournaments since Euro 2016 in his country.
Spain, on the other hand, made it to the finals of major tournaments for the first time in 12 years since Euro 2012, with a remarkable rise in all six games, including against France. Spain, which surprised the world by winning three consecutive major titles in Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and Euro 2012, will compete with the winner of England and the Netherlands in the final on the 15th.
France has been consistent throughout the tournament with less-than-expected performance. Didier Deschamps made a strong move to exclude Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), who was sluggish. He set up a three-top with Mbappe, Randal Colomuani and Usman Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain). The three-middle was built with Adrian Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), and N'Golo Kante (Altihad). The focus was on stabilizing the midfield. Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), William Saliba (Arnall) and Theo Hernandez (AC Milan) defended the goal.
In response, Spain pulled out a 4-2-3-1 formation that set Alvaro Morata (Atletico) as one-top. '16 Special' Yamal, Dani Olmo (Leifich) and Nico Williams (Atlantic) set up the second line of attack. Olmo filled the void of Pedri (Barcelona), who was injured. Rodri (Man City) and Fabian Lewis (Paris Saint-Germain) defended the midfield without fail. The right-back made a difference. Oldest Keylor Navas (Seville) started. Nacho (Al-Qadcia), Aymeric Laport (Al-Nasr), and Mark Cucurella (Chelsea) packed four-backs, while Unai Simone (Atlantic) wore goalkeeper gloves.
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In the 9th minute of the first half, Colomuani scored an early first goal. Colomuani connected a powerful header in front of the gate to Mbappe's cross from the left side of the opponent's box, which was shared by PSG until last season. Mbappe, who caught his opponent off guard, smiled brightly. In the game on that day, he even took off his stuffy mask and focused on the game.
But Mbappe's smile gradually faded. 21 min 'Baby Messi'Yamal's left-footed curl shot aimed at the top left of the goal from the front of the arc was sucked into the goal. Yamal, dubbed the best sensation of the tournament, tried several similar shots earlier and failed, but exploded his Euro debut goal in an important match. Scoring at the age of 16 years and 362 days, he broke the record of being the youngest to score in both the Euros and the World Cup. The previous record was 17 years and 239 days held by Pele, a Brazilian legend.
Spain, which gained momentum, even scored a come-from-behind goal in the fourth minute. Olmo, who played the role of 'Unsung Hero' by scoring consecutive goals against Georgia in the round of 16 and Germany in the quarterfinals, shook the net past Chouameni with a smart ball touch in the box. Pedri's replacement or Olmo, who has a strong backup image, scored three consecutive goals and quickly became the leading scorer.
The goal remained 'final goal'. France tried to make a big turnaround, but failed to break through Spain's defensive wall. Mbappe's full-time look was far from smiling. At Euro 2028, Mbappe turns 30, and Yamal turns 21.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
