Battle of Ballon d'Or favourites - Yamal v Dembele in Nations League

Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal, the 2 favourites for the Ballon d'Or, spell caput to caput successful Thursday's Nations League semi-final.

Dembele's France and Yamal's Spain meet successful Stuttgart (20:00 BST) for a spot successful Sunday's last against Portugal - aft the decision of singular home seasons for both.

As good arsenic impressing for their clubs, some netted successful their country's respective Nations League quarter-final victories.

Yamal played down immoderate proposition this lucifer would person an interaction successful the Ballon d'Or determination - with the victor announced connected 22 September successful Paris.

"If you were voting for the Ballon d'Or, would you take the champion subordinate of the year, oregon the 1 who wins the lucifer connected Thursday?" the 17-year-old told El Partidazo de COPE.

"Whether we triumph oregon not, I would ballot for the champion subordinate of the year.

"I'm not reasoning astir the trophy oregon whether I'm going to win. You'll bash severely if you deliberation you person to triumph it. What I bash is play and effort to win."

BBC Sport compares their stats and looks astatine the seasons that 2 of the astir breathtaking forwards successful satellite shot person conscionable completed.

Paris St-Germain guardant Dembele is good wide of Barcelona winger Yamal for goals (33 v 18) but the Spaniard beats his French rival for assists (21 v 13).

Across each competitions, Yamal, contempt being 11 years younger, played importantly much than Dembele this play - 4,548 to 3,286 minutes - and successful a tougher league successful presumption of the wide level of competition.

Yamal has taken much shots wide (but less per 90 minutes) portion Dembele's conversion complaint is overmuch higher.

And Yamal ranks overmuch higher for dribbles than Dembele, with a higher occurrence complaint connected them too.

The Spaniard has won possession much times, tackled much and won much duels than the Frenchman.

In presumption of trophies, some won their home double, positive their Community Shield equivalents - and Dembele lifted the Champions League.

Dembele delivering the play helium has had would person been unthinkable adjacent 7 months ago, and winning the Ballon d'Or would implicit one of football's top revivals.

This play has already resulted successful the 28-year-old being named the Champions League's subordinate of the play and the Ligue 1 Golden Boot winner.

His vocation looked destined to beryllium 1 of of unfulfilled potential, and helium has admitted himself for years helium lacked professionalism. He erstwhile outgo Barcelona a interest of £96.8m, perchance rising to £135.5m.

But earlier this play helium had lone managed treble figures for goals successful a league run once, his archetypal successful elder shot for Rennes (12 goals successful 2015-16).

Maybe helium was champion known successful England for missing the accidental to enactment Barca 4-0 up successful their 2019 Champions League semi-final, with the Reds going connected to triumph 4-3 connected aggregate.

Even approaching the halfway constituent of the season, helium was lone having a reasonably mean 1 by his standards - with 5 goals earlier playing Lyon connected 15 December.

But everything changed that time arsenic Luis Enrique moved him from his much accustomed right-wing berth to play him astatine centre guardant - and helium netted successful a 3-1 win.

That was portion of a tally of 18 goals successful 10 games. After that helium chipped successful goals astatine a regular rate.

Even with a instrumentality of 1 extremity successful his last 10 games of the season, helium ended connected 33 - with 21 successful the league making him Ligue 1's apical scorer.

Dembele has besides performed for his country, netting successful Nations League wins implicit Belgium and Croatia - doubling his tally of competitory goals successful a France shirt.

He besides managed 13 assists for PSG, including 2 successful the record-breaking 5-0 Champions League last win implicit Inter Milan.

"I would springiness the Ballon d'Or to Mr Ousmane Dembele," PSG brag Luis Enrique said successful Munich.

"The mode helium defended, conscionable that unsocial could beryllium worthy the Ballon d'Or. That's however you pb a team: goals, trophies, leadership, defence, his pressing."

Unlike Yamal, Dembele inactive has the Fifa Club World Cup to play successful this summertime to cement his claims.

Yamal is achieving things fewer 17-year-olds person ever done before.

Before his 18th day - which helium volition observe connected 13 July - helium has already won the European Championship with Spain, La Liga, the Copa del Rey, positive a Spanish Super Cup portion successful the colours of Barca.

He has really won 2 La Liga titles, arsenic helium played erstwhile arsenic a 15-year-old successful 2022-23.

But successful the abstraction of 2 years his power has grown importantly arsenic Yamal, who has already passed 100 appearances for Barcelona, scored 18 goals and made 25 assists successful 55 games this season.

He was named successful the Champions League squad of the twelvemonth aft immoderate singular displays - including successful the thrilling semi-final decision by Inter Milan.

"Lamine is the benignant of endowment that comes on each 50 years, and to spot him up adjacent truly impressed me," said absorption manager Simone Inzaghi.

"He caused america immense problems due to the fact that we were expected to treble up connected him and it wasn't enough."

It is not conscionable the quantity of Yamal's goals but the prime and big-game quality of them.

He netted 3 goals successful 4 Clasicos against Real Madrid this season, positive a fantastic onslaught successful that epic necktie against Inter.

And helium struck successful the Nations League quarter-final against the Netherlands.

The CIES Football Observatory precocious valued him astatine 400m euros (£340m).

Yamal precocious signed a caller six-year woody with Barca, and BBC pundit Stephen Warnock called him "a aboriginal Ballon d'Or winner".

Brazil fable Ronaldo is the youngest victor of the grant astatine the property of 21 - truthful Yamal has 3 attempts to interruption that record.