Birthday boy Lamine Yamal wins Euro 2024 and best young player award

BERLIN (AP) — Spain’s teenage phenom Lamine Yamal won the European Championship and the tournament’s best young player award just a day after he turned 17.

Yamal earned it mostly while he was still 16, but he crowned his contribution to Spain’s success by setting up Nico Williams’ opening goal in a 2-1 win over England in the final on Sunday.

“This is the best (birthday) gift I could have asked for. It’s a dream come true,” Yamal said. “It got tough when they tied the score, but I don’t know what this team is made of because we always fight back.”

England substitute Cole Palmer had equalized for England, but Mikel Oyarzabal clinched Spain’s win in the 86th.

Yamal set up Williams to score in the 47th by drifting inside Luke Shaw and playing the ball across to the left for the Athletic Bilbao winger to hit first time inside the far post. Yamal also brought two good saves from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

“Lamine is incredible, as you’ve all seen during this tournament,” Williams said. “The sky’s the limit for him. As well as being a good player, he’s also a great person.”

Yamal became the youngest player to appear at the European Championship, the youngest to score in the tournament, and the youngest to play in a final.

Yamal plays for Barcelona, following in the footsteps of his idol, Lionel Messi, after coming through the club’s famed La Masia training academy. He's also the youngest goalscorer in the Spanish league.

He finished with four assists and one goal in his debut European Championship.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Spain's Lamine Yamal poses with the trophy after the final match against England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won the game 2-1. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

Spain's Lamine Yamal smiles with his medal next to the trophy after winning the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates after receiving the Best Young Player of the tournament award after the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Lamine Yamal holds a baby after the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Spain's Lamine Yamal holds the young player of the tournament trophy after the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Spain's head coach Luis de la Fuente gestures to Lamine Yamal after they collected their medals for winning the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's Lamine Yamal poses with the trophy after the final match against England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won the game 2-1. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)

BEIJING (AP) — United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met Thursday with a top Chinese military official as the two countries strengthen communication in an effort to prevent differences over the South China Sea and Taiwan from spiraling into conflict.

The meeting came one day after the White House said that both countries would plan for a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden in the coming weeks.

Sullivan was wrapping up a three-day trip to China, his first as national security adviser and one aimed at stabilizing bilateral relations to avoid conflict. His main talks were held over the past day and a half with Wang Yi, the foreign minister and the ruling Communist Party’s top foreign policy official.

A White House statement Wednesday after talks with Wang concluded said both sides would keep lines of communication open, including planning for a “leader-level call” in the coming weeks. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wang and Sullivan discussed “a new round of interactions between the two countries’ heads of state to take place in the near future.”

There was no indication whether the two leaders might meet in person before Biden leaves the Oval Office in January.

Sullivan's meeting Thursday was with Zhang Youxia, one of two vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, an organization that Xi personally heads. It was a rare meeting with a civilian U.S. official.

“Your request to meet with me shows the value you attach to military security and the relationship between our militaries,” Zhang told Sullivan in opening remarks.

A White House statement after the talks said the two had “recognized the progress in sustained, regular military-military communications over the past ten months” and noted the agreement announced Wednesday to hold a telephone call between commanders at the theater-level in the near future.

Such a call would be between Adm. Samuel Paparo, who heads the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, and his Chinese counterpart, said Danny Russel, a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.

“This theater command-level dialogue is critical for crisis prevention but something the Chinese military has been resisting,” Russel said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, left walks past Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission at right before a meeting at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)

Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, fourth from right holds a meeting with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, fourth from left. at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)

Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, second from right, holds a meeting with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, second from left. during a meeting at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)

Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, right, shakes hands with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan before a meeting at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)

Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, right, attends a meeting with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, unseen. during a meeting at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, second from left speaks near U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, third from left, during a meeting with Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, unseen, at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)

Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, right, shakes hands with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan before a meeting at the Bayi building in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)