France, Spain Advance to UEFA Euro Under-19 Semis

France and Spain have both advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship after tying 2-2 on Monday, 22 July.

Facing each other at Inver Park in Larne, Northern Ireland, the two Group B opponents were each determined to come out on tops, even if it meant incurring a slew of yellow cards in the process.

Attacking midfielder Saïmon Bouabré opened the scoreboard for France in the 13th minute. However, yellow cards meted out to his teammates Dehmaine Assoumani, Elyaz Zidane and Mamadou Sarr – all for rough play – across the first half almost certainly overshadowed Bouabré’s moment of triumph.

Spain doubled the score in the second half, thanks to goals from Daniel Rodriguez and Simo Keddari in the 65th and 75th minutes, respectively.

This did not prevent the Spaniards from being hit with yellow cards themselves, though: Yarek Gasiorowski was penalised for a foul, while Assane Diao was chastened for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

France regained their stride (and were given another yellow card, this time for Tidiam Gomis’ rough play) in the last 20 minutes of the game – Valentin Atangana fired a shot into the left side of the goalbox, ensuring a 2-2 draw.

As a result, Spain will face Italy in the first semi-final round this Thursday afternoon, 25 July; France will take on Ukraine later that evening.

Image Credit: Source