Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot wished he had never called out Spain teen sensation Lamine Yamal in the build-up to Tuesday’s EURO 2024 semifinal. The France international praised the Barcelona whizz-kid but claimed ‘he’ll need to show much more‘ against Les Bleus.
Rabiot soon came to regret his statement. Spain came from behind to beat Didier Deschamps’ side 2-1 in Munich. And Yamal was the architect of the Iberian heavyweights’ lightning-fast comeback. He became the youngest-ever scorer at the European Championships.
The 16-year-old struck home a delightful curler from long range to cancel out Randal Kolo Muani’s opener. After Yamal scored a beauty against Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Jules Kounde’s sloppy own goal sealed the French faith, though Dani Olmo took the credit.
Olmo displayed a brilliant piece of technique to find room inside the box, lodging a devastating effort toward the far bottom corner, which Kounde turned into an empty net. Meanwhile, Yamal refused Rabiot’s pre-match comments slide.
Thrilled with Spain’s victory, Yamal approached a TV camera and yelled “Speak now! Speak now!” in response to Rabiot’s statement.
Rabiot, whose future at Juventus is in doubt, slammed Yamal before the game, questioning his age and ability to handle the pressure.
“It’s down to us to put the pressure on him, to not let him be comfortable and to show him that in order to play the final of a Euro, he’ll need to show much more than he has until now,” Rabiot said.
Yamal accelerated the Frechman’s return to Turin for showdown talks with Juventus over his future.
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