Fans make the same point about Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal's Ballon d'Or hopes after Spain beat France

Fans have had their say on the Ballon d'Or race between Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal following Spain's big victory over France.

Spain and France played out an extraordinary nine-goal thriller as Luis de la Fuente's side ran out 5-4 winners in Stuttgart.

The Euro 2024 champions will now face Portugal, who beat Germany on Wednesday, in Sunday's Nations League final.

Yamal will be on show once again, having shone against France - scoring a stunning brace in his side's victory.

He converted a second-half penalty before grabbing a second in the 67th minute.

As for his Ballon d'Or rival, Dembele failed to score or assist in his team's crushing defeat.

The game between Spain and France came just days after Paris Saint-Germain destroyed Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final.

Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring a goal for Spain against France. Image: Getty

The bookies installed Dembele as the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or, but some fans think the landscape of the prestigious individual award has changed following Thursday's huge result.

They reckon Yamal should be awarded the Ballon d'Or after his scintilating performance against France.

One X user wrote: "If the Ballon d’Or is about awarding the best player in the world, there’s only one rightful winner. And his name is Lamine Yamal."

A second said: "If Lamine Yamal doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or this sport is cooked. By far the best player itw."

A third bemoaned: "Poor Dembele. His Ballon D’or chances plummeted because he lost the semi-final of what has been seen as a glorified friendly for years until this year. Treble means nothing nowadays. First Haaland, now Dembele."

A fourth argued: "Dembele should still get the Ballon d'Or. Robbery otherwise."

Another commented: "Yamal's the best player itw overall but Dembele's had the better season so deserves the ballon d'or. not hard to grasp."

Ousmane Dembele cuts a dejected figure during Spain vs. France. Image: Getty

The 17-year-old's outing comes after he called Spain vs. France a Ballon d'Or decider between himself and Dembele.

"For me, it's the best player across the whole year, but everyone sees it their own way. I am confident we will win Thursday, but whether we win or not, I would vote for the best player over the whole year," he said.

"If on Thursday it doesn't go as me or Dembele want, then who do you vote for? Someone playing on Sunday [in the final]? For me, it's based on the whole year, but if people want to put it all on Thursday, then let's play."