Spain coach Luis de la Fuente says Lamine Yamal delivered a Ballon d'Or "statement" in Thursday's end-to-end 5-4 UEFA Nations League semifinal win over France in Stuttgart.

Yamal, 17, scored twice as Spain built up a 5-1 lead before France fought back late on, but La Roja held on to reach Sunday's final against Portugal .

The fixture had been billed in some quarters as a battle for the Ballon d'Or between Barcelona forward Yamal, who won LaLiga and the Copa del Rey with his club, and Paris Saint-Germain 's Ousmane Dembélé , who won a treble.

"Lamine Yamal has made a statement tonight and shown that he should win the Ballon d'Or," De la Fuente told RTVE after Yamal had been named MVP.

"He's the best player in the world and, in my opinion, of course, he deserves to win

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