A New Prince Leads Spain as It Rules European Soccer Again

First, Spain’s players had to perform the rituals of celebration. They communed with their fans. They draped themselves with a selection of flags, national and regional. They commiserated with their bereft English opponents. Once those were completed, they gathered by the podium hastily constructed on the field at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Most of the players took that moment to compose themselves, to share an embrace, to try to absorb the scale of their achievement over the past month: At the start of Euro 2024, Spain stood in the second rank of continental powers. Now, after a flawless tournament and a 2-1 triumph over England in the final on Sunday, the country sits at the pinnacle once more.

Lamine Yamal, though, could not contain himself. He danced and bounced, unable to stop moving. He knew, though not from firsthand experience, that each and every player would get chance to lift the trophy, so he made sure to practice his technique, heaving an imaginary cup three times.

When Spain’s players were eventually summoned to receive their prize, Yamal went a little too early. The assembled dignitaries were not yet in place when he scampered onstage. He had to be called back by his teammates, greeted not with censure but an affectionate, somewhat paternal, ruffle of the hair.

It has been easy, over the past few weeks, to forget quite how young Yamal is. Only 16 years old for most of the tournament, he is so young that German lawrequires that he have special dispensation to work late in the evening. He is so young that he has had a designated guardian with him at all times. He is so young that, standing by the podium, he could probably taste the cake he was given to celebrate his 17th birthday on Saturday.

And yet, despite his youth, Yamal can claim a large portion of the credit for taking a relatively unheralded Spanish side to a largely unanticipated glory. It was his goal that turned the semifinal with France on Tuesday. It was his pass that created Spain’s opening strike in Sunday’s final, turned home by Nico Williams.