Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal wasted no time looking ahead after guiding La Roja into the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, sending a confident message to their title rivals with a social media post: “nuevayol vamos por ti” — translated as “New York, we’re coming for you.“Minutes after Spain defeated France 2-0 in the semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Yamal shared pictures from the historic victory on Instagram, making it clear that reaching the final was only part of the mission.Spain will now travel to the New York-New Jersey Stadium for Sunday’s showpiece, where they will face either defending champions Argentina or England, who meet in the second semifinal in Atlanta.
Yamal delivers on biggest stage
The 19-year-old played a decisive role in Spain’s return to the World Cup final for the first time since their 2010 triumph in South Africa.Yamal was one of two teenagers, alongside Pau Cubarsi, to start for Spain against France — marking the first time in World Cup history that a team featured two teenage starters in a semifinal.The Barcelona forward produced the breakthrough moment in the 22nd minute when he cleverly won possession from Lucas Digne before being brought down inside the penalty area. Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick to give Spain the lead. France struggled to disrupt Spain’s control as Luis de la Fuente’s side dominated possession and dictated the tempo. After the break, Spain doubled their advantage when Pedro Porro combined with Dani Olmo before finding the bottom corner with a composed finish.Yamal thought he had added a third shortly afterwards, but his effort was ruled out for a marginal offside. France pushed forward through Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni, yet Spain’s defence remained firm to secure their sixth clean sheet in seven matches at the tournament.
Spain celebrations begin, but focus shifts to final
The victory sparked wild celebrations inside Spain’s dressing room, with the official national team account sharing a video of players dancing, singing and celebrating their return to football’s biggest stage.“Shouts rang out, dances took place, celebrations happened… Come to the Spanish National Team’s locker room and unleash the forbidden moves!” the team posted on social media.Beyond the celebrations, Spain’s semifinal performance highlighted their evolution into a complete side. After relying heavily on attacking brilliance earlier in the tournament, La Roja combined defensive discipline with clinical finishing to overcome one of the competition’s strongest teams.Oyarzabal continued his remarkable form, scoring his 18th goal in his last 20 appearances for Spain and becoming only the sixth player to reach 30 international goals for the nation.For Spain, the final represents a chance to add a second World Cup crown to their history. Their only previous final appearance ended in glory in 2010, when Andres Iniesta scored the extra-time winner against the Netherlands.Now, with Yamal already sending his New York message, Spain are one victory away from another unforgettable chapter.
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