Lamine Yamal described Tuesday's Euro 2024 semi-final success over France as "a dream come true", with the Spain international inspiring his side to a position in the final of the competition.

The Barcelona attacker became the youngest goalscorer in European Championship history at the age of 16 years and 362 days old when he found the back of the net with a brilliant strike against Didier Deschamps's side.

Yamal is now in line to become the youngest player to feature in a European Championship final, while he will also be bidding to become the youngest-ever goalscorer in the final of the competition this weekend.

After the match, the attacker opened up on his "pure elation" at scoring against France, with his strike likely to be remembered as one of the best in the history of the tournament.

"I'm thrilled that we are in the final but we still haven't done the most important thing, which is win this. There were difficult moments for us out there. None of us expected to concede that early," Yamal told UEFA.com after the last-four success over the Blues.

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Yamal has had a historic European Championship

"I was aiming for exactly the top corner where my shot went in and that was a feeling of pure elation. I try not to think too much about what's going on. I just want to enjoy myself and help the team.

"I came here to win all the matches so that I could celebrate my [17th] birthday [on Saturday] here in Germany with all of my teammates.

"Getting to the final is really special. I need to help my team and that's what I tried to do today. I was really happy after the final whistle. It's a dream come true."

The generational talent entered this summer's European Championship off the back of scoring seven goals and registering 10 assists in 50 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona during the 2023-24 campaign.

"When you reach the final, you have to play against the very best. We'll wait and see who we get," Yamal added, as Spain wait to learn whether it will be England or Netherlands in Sunday's final.

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Nacho hails "genius" Yamal

Spain defender Nacho was also full of praise for Yamal, branding the teenager a "genius".

"We knew that there were genius players in the French team but we knew that we were as good as them. When we were losing and looking for a solution, up popped the youngest man in our team with a fantastic goal," he told UEFA's official website.

"If we're talking about genius then maybe Spain has one too. Lamine's goal, for a guy of 16, was incredible.

"We are happy but it's a controlled happiness. We have only achieved half of what we're here for – we haven't won anything yet. We're tired. It's time to rest, celebrate and then we'll see you in Berlin."

Spain are currently sweating over the fitness of captain Alvaro Morata, with the striker seemingly picking up a knee injury in a bizarre incident after Tuesday's semi-final win.

Written by
Matt Law