🎥 First roasted, then unsporting? A night to forget for Lamine Yamal!
An outstanding football year, starting with the Euro 2024 title, ended bitterly for Lamine Yamal yesterday: The Spanish prodigy lost to Portugal in the Nations League final with 3:5 after a penalty shootout, missing out on the second title of his national team career.
And personally for Yamal, the final against the Iberian neighbor did not go according to plan. The 17-year-old repeatedly struggled against Portuguese left-back Nuno Mendes and at no point in the match did he display his usual dominance.
Advertisement
The disappointing stats: Yamal lost ten of his seventeen duels, completed only one successful dribble, and none of his five crosses reached a teammate. On social media, the performance of the hyped mega-talent was widely mocked.
The meme creators were in full swing last night, presenting some unflattering results from Yamal's perspective.
As if the teenager's evening hadn't already gone poorly enough, he ultimately had to watch as the Portuguese opponent lifted the Nations League trophy into the Munich night sky right around midnight.
At least in theory. Because: As clearly visible from numerous video recordings, Yamal avoided this ceremony and headed to the locker room early. A large part of his teammates remained on the pitch at this point, applauding the victorious opponent.
What do you think: Is the youngster's reaction understandable given a long season and the frustration over the missed title? Or did Yamal simply act unsportsmanlike in this case? Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments!
Advertisement
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 TOBIAS SCHWARZ - AFP or licensors
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
2 hours ago
- News24
PSL Playoffs: Casric, Orbit draw to give CT City hope of retaining topflight status
Orbit College and Casric Stars played out a cagey 0-0 draw in their PSL Promotional Playoff opener, leaving the promotion race wide open. Both goalkeepers impressed, with Sekhoane Moerane and Emile Lako Wendeu pulling off key saves in a tense first half. The match lost momentum after halftime, with neither side able to create clear chances as defences took control and caution prevailed. The PSL Promotional Playoffs kicked off with a tense stalemate on Wednesday afternoon. Orbit College and Casric Stars played out a 0-0 draw, keeping both sides on level ground but doing little to clarify the race for Premiership promotion. Orbit, still chasing their first win in a playoff fixture after their winless campaign in 2022, began brightly. Siyabulela Mabele came close inside the first minute, latching onto a loose ball and unleashing a stinging shot that forced a solid save from Casric goalkeeper Emile Lako Wendeu. Casric, with Kermit Erasmus and Decide Chauke leading their frontline, showed intent but lacked cohesion in the final third. Thabang Semache's long-range effort midway through the first half nearly broke the deadlock, but Orbit keeper Sekhoane Moerane was sharp and denied him at full stretch. Moerane was called into action again shortly before halftime to tip over a powerful header from Simon Fils Ndou Moukete. The second half, however, saw a more tactical and conservative approach from both benches. Erasmus was withdrawn in the 54th minute after struggling to influence proceedings, and Orbit introduced Gomolemo Khoto and Reuben Kgabane to inject fresh energy, but clear chances dried up as the match wore on. With defences taking control and both teams cautious of losing their opener, the game fizzled out to a goalless draw. It's a point apiece, and while it doesn't ignite the playoff race, it sets the stage for a vital clash on Saturday when Orbit travel to Cape Town to face Premiership side Cape Town City. Kick-off is at 15:00 at Cape Town Stadium.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Charalampos Kostoulas set to undergo Brighton medical ahead of €35m transfer from Olympiacos
Olympiacos striker Charalampos Kostoulas is set to undergo a medical before completing a move to Brighton & Hove Albion. The Athletic reported earlier this month that Brighton were in negotiations with the Greek Super League club over the potential transfer of the 18-year-old. A deal worth €35m (£29.6m; $40.2m) plus an additional €2m (£1.6m, $2.2m) in add-ons is nearing completion. Advertisement Kostoulas is set to sign a five-year deal and will join up with his new team-mates in July for pre-season. It was revealed by The Athletic on May 16 that the Premier League side had submitted an offer of around £30m plus Senegal forward Abdallah Sima for Kostoulas but Olympiacos rejected that proposal. Kostoulas is regarded as one of the hottest young talents in Europe. The teenage forward helped Olympiacos to win the youth version of the Champions League in 2023-24 with five goals in eight appearances. He featured regularly for the first team in the Greek Super League and in the Europa League this season, with seven goals and two assists in 30 appearances. Kostoulas has scored five goals in 15 appearances representing Greece in age groups from under-16 to under-21 but is yet to make his senior international debut.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
What Senegal's win over England means a year before the World Cup: ‘We have arrived'
Thomas Tuchel's stern glare in his post-match press conference betrayed his frustration. His England side had been deservedly beaten by Senegal in Nottingham on Tuesday. Not only that — their celebrations had reached his ears. 'You feel what it means to them to beat us,' he told the media, snarkily. 'I heard it because my changing room was next to the dressing room of Senegal. Advertisement 'Would we have celebrated in the same manner? Would I have been screaming? Would the players… have thought, 'It's just a friendly match and the gaffer needs to calm down?'' Just a friendly? Try telling that to the Senegal players and fans, whose euphoric celebrations brought joy to their section of the City Ground. This was England's first-ever defeat against an African side in 21 encounters and extended Senegal's unbeaten run to 22 matches. It was also only the second time in their history that England have lost by two or more goals after scoring first. Senegal, 19th in FIFA's world rankings, see the 3-1 win as far more than a meaningless friendly at the end of a long, gruelling season. They see it as just the start. Senegal have World Cup qualifiers in September and October before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off in late December. If they manage to qualify for the World Cup, they would take part in the tournament next summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Simon Ndiaye, 34, travelled from France to attend the game with friends and was enthusiastic about what the performance promised for the future. 'The match was perfect,' he tells The Athletic. 'The victory was very deserved, well merited. It is positive for the future and the AFCON competition, it will be a very good opportunity. '(The result) gives a positive atmosphere for the team and it allows the Senegal team to prepare for the World Cup qualification fixtures with belief for this moment.' Mohamed Salad, a journalist specialising in African football, also thinks the win will give the players confidence ahead of what could be a big year. He says: 'I wasn't as surprised as a lot of people were. Senegal haven't lost a competitive game in 90 minutes since England at the 2022 World Cup, and have only conceded twice in the last 13 months of competitive football. Advertisement 'They should be higher in the world rankings. That's how much I respect them. African football as a whole has improved significantly over the past two years. Look at some of the players who played yesterday: (Everton's) Iliman Ndiaye, (Crystal Palace's) Ismaila Sarr. They play at a high level in the Premier League, so they're not going to look at Declan Rice and think, 'Oh my God, this is such an overwhelming experience', which was the case a lot before. Was this a one-off result, or the result of a few years of development? Salad continues: 'Every international break, they find two or three new young Senegalese players breaking through. El Hadji Malick Diouf, Habib Diarra. They do have a very, very good system developed for bringing young players through and integrating them. In 2023, they won the Under-17 AFCON, they've been a consistent feature in the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups. 'Beating England is a massive, massive statement. And it shows what a lot of us think already: Senegal can step onto the pitch and compete with anyone and impose their game.' This was a committed, consistent and complete performance from Senegal. They had 11 shots to the hosts' eight and nine shots on target to four. This was no smash-and-grab result — it was one inspired by the tactical outlook of manager Pape Thiaw. The direct Sarr swapped wings with Ndiaye early to attack England's weaker right side, dovetailing nicely with overlapping full-back Diouf. With Kyle Walker too narrow and Bukayo Saka too high, Senegal manufactured constant two-on-ones. Dynamic No 8s Lamine Camara and Diarra, both 21, pushed up onto Declan Rice and Conor Gallagher's double pivot to stifle England's progressive passing lanes. Thiaw was happy to trust their players in isolated one-on-one battles all over the pitch: trust they repaid. The manager wasn't getting carried away, however. His calm press conference suggests he knows Senegal's potential ceiling is even higher than they showed in Nottingham. He said: 'I would like to congratulate my players who have won this match for their tremendous performance and mindset. Advertisement 'We felt we were on top but then they scored a goal. We came back, showed a great mentality, in the second half we were able to impose our game a bit more. 'Well done to the players, well done to the federation for enabling us to play this kind of match. There are always things we can do better.' Senegal have won the Africa Cup of Nations once — in 2021. In 2002, they played in their first ever World Cup and managed to reach the quarter-finals. At the last World Cup, in Qatar, they were knocked out in the round of 16 by England. But at that tournament in 2022, another nation from Africa — Morocco — managed to become the first team from the continent to reach the semi-final stage. Salad believes that yesterday's win can be the springboard for greater achievements: 'Two years ago, they played Brazil in a friendly, beat them 4-2, and it was just as convincing as it was yesterday. These games say to Senegalese fans: 'We have arrived, and we can go on a run like Morocco did at the last World Cup'.'
