Birthday boy Lamine Yamal wins Euro 2024 and best young player award

BERLIN (AP) — Spain’s teenage phenom Lamine Yamal won the European Championship and the tournament’s best young player award just a day after he turned 17.

Yamal earned it mostly while he was still 16, but he crowned his contribution to Spain’s success by setting up Nico Williams’ opening goal in a 2-1 win over England in the final on Sunday.

“This is the best (birthday) gift I could have asked for. It’s a dream come true,” Yamal said. “It got tough when they tied the score, but I don’t know what this team is made of because we always fight back.”

England substitute Cole Palmer had equalized for England, but Mikel Oyarzabal clinched Spain’s win in the 86th.

Yamal set up Williams to score in the 47th by drifting inside Luke Shaw and playing the ball across to the left for the Athletic Bilbao winger to hit first time inside the far post. Yamal also brought two good saves from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

“Lamine is incredible, as you’ve all seen during this tournament,” Williams said. “The sky’s the limit for him. As well as being a good player, he’s also a great person.”

Yamal became the youngest player to appear at the European Championship, the youngest to score in the tournament, and the youngest to play in a final.

Yamal plays for Barcelona, following in the footsteps of his idol, Lionel Messi, after coming through the club’s famed La Masia training academy. He’s also the youngest goalscorer in the Spanish league.

He finished with four assists and one goal in his debut European Championship.

___

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024