- Spain has qualified for the UEFA Nations League last aft La Roja defeated erstwhile champions France 5-4 connected Thursday
- Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal stole the amusement aft helium netted a brace and besides won the Man of the Match award
- The 17-year-old is present the starring contender for the 2025 Ballon d’Or grant up of France’s Ousmane Dembele
Spain’s sensational 5-4 triumph implicit France successful the UEFA Nations League semi-final connected Thursday nighttime has dramatically shifted the communicative surrounding the 2025 Ballon d’Or race.
Barcelona teen Lamine Yamal stole the headlines with a commanding performance, netting a brace and providing an assistance successful what could beryllium a defining infinitesimal successful his young career.

Source: Getty Images
With his display, the 17-year-old not lone helped Spain scope the last but besides leapfrogged erstwhile frontrunner Ousmane Dembele successful the updated Ballon d’Or rankings, Daily Post reports.
Yamal overshadows Dembele successful Stuttgart
Coming disconnected a singular play with PSG, wherever helium lifted the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, and Coupe de France, Dembele was seen by galore arsenic the favourite for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
But successful Stuttgart, nether the agleam lights of a high-stakes encounter, it was Yamal who delivered the magic.
The teen scored twice, assisted Oyarzabal successful the game’s opener, and consistently troubled the French defence with his velocity and creativity.
In stark contrast, Dembele struggled to enforce himself. Despite a threatening changeable that struck the post, helium lacked the decisiveness Yamal displayed passim the match.
By the 76th minute, with France trailing heavily, Dembele was substituted, a symbolic infinitesimal highlighting the generational displacement unfolding earlier our eyes.
A historical Ballon d’Or successful the making?
Yamal’s show has not gone unnoticed, arsenic erstwhile Germany planetary Bastian Schweinsteiger, speaking aft the game, stated unequivocally that Yamal deserves to beryllium ranked up of Dembele successful the Ballon d’Or race, The Touchline reports.
“Ballon d’Or? Lamine Yamal has to beryllium enactment higher than Dembele, Lamine Yamal was amended tonight,” Schweinsteiger said, praising the youngster’s maturity and impact.With LaLiga and Copa del Rey titles already nether his loop this season, Yamal’s accordant brilliance astatine some nine and planetary level has acceptable him apart.
If helium maintains this signifier done the UEFA Nations League last and the remainder of the year, helium could go the youngest Ballon d’Or victor successful history, surpassing Ronaldo Nazario, who won it astatine 21 successful 1997.
Momentum with Yamal up of last stretch
As the football satellite turns its regard to the UEFA Nations League final, each eyes volition beryllium connected Lamine Yamal.

Source: Getty Images
While Dembele’s achievements with PSG stay impressive, the Ballon d’Or often rewards moments of greatness connected the biggest stages, and close now, Yamal is delivering conscionable that.
With the last conscionable astir the country and Yamal's 18th birthday approaching successful July, the adjacent fewer months could seal his sanction successful shot history.
Fans request Ballon d’Or for Yamal
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Barcelona fans are calling connected the Ballon d'Or organisers to grant Spain planetary Lamine Yamal aft the teen destroyed France successful the Nations League semifinal.
Yamal scored his archetypal extremity of the nighttime done a penalty, sending Mike Maignan the incorrect mode aft helium was brought down by Adrien Rabiot successful the container successful the 54th minute.
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Source: Legit.ng