Arlington (United States) (AFP) – Spain stunned tournament favourites France 2-0 to reach the World Cup final on Tuesday, producing a tactical masterpiece to shatter Les Bleus’ dreams of winning the title for the third time. A first-half penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a 58th-minute Pedro Porro goal sealed an utterly clinical victory for the European champions at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Spain, World Cup winners in 2010, will now face either Argentina or England in Sunday’s final in New Jersey.
“Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them they had the best team in the world,” delighted Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said afterwards. “That is different.” France had entered the showdown as the overwhelming favourites for the tournament after a dazzling run to the semi-finals that had seen them pile up 16 goals in six matches. But France’s vaunted front four of captain Kylian Mbappe, Ballon D’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, and Michael Olise were snuffed out by a combination of Spanish poise and power. France coach Didier Deschamps admitted his team had been outplayed.
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“The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition, even though we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a notch below on the technical level against a team that controlled the game well,” said Deschamps, who is stepping down after the tournament. Spain, who had beaten France in their previous two competitive meetings, had vowed to go on the front foot in the pre-match build-up, and they proved as good as their word.
A commanding performance by Spain’s midfield, led by Manchester City star Rodri and assisted by Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo, never allowed the French to gain a foothold in the contest. Spain’s midfield quickly overran the outnumbered French duo of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni, passing around their opponents with ease to control the early exchanges. The first signs of French frustration came after just nine minutes when midfielder Rabiot was booked for treading on Olmo’s foot on the edge of the area.
Yet despite the early dominance, it was France who looked the more threatening when venturing into the final third, and it needed a desperate late block by Pau Cubarsi to thwart Mbappe in the 16th minute as the French captain looked to break clear. Spain’s early dominance got its reward in the 20th minute, though, when a hopeful cross by Marc Cucurella flew across the penalty area. Lucas Digne didn’t get enough purchase on his attempted headed clearance, and as the Aston Villa player instinctively swung out a leg, he kicked Yamal, sending the Barcelona star crashing to the turf.
El Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed immediately to the spot, and after a brief delay as French players loitered, Oyarzabal stepped up to sweep in a spot-kick that beat the dive of French goalkeeper Mike Maignan. France’s rocky start got worse after 31 minutes when key central defender William Saliba hobbled off with an injury to be replaced by Maxence Lacroix. Spain almost doubled their lead with a sublime passing move on 38 minutes when wonderful interplay on the edge of the area sliced open France’s defence, with Dayot Upamecano’s block denying Fabian Ruiz.
France enjoyed their best spell in the closing minutes of the first half, and only excellent anticipation from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon denied Mbappe after Rabiot’s clever through ball. Spain, though, reasserted themselves at the start of the second half, and Deschamps’ failure to adjust France’s tactics again left the Spanish midfield in charge. On 58 minutes, Spain struck the hammer blow. Porro and Olmo worked a sensational one-two on the edge of the area that sent Porro through, and the Tottenham defender clipped a fine finish past Maignan.
Only a fractional offside decision denied Spain a third goal in the 61st minute when Lamal had the ball in the net. Deschamps made a flurry of substitutions, but France were unable to penetrate Spain’s smothering defence, their best chance coming when Mbappe’s shot was blocked at the near post by Simon. French frustration was symbolised by Mbappe in the closing minutes, booked for following through on Simon as Spain closed out the victory.
© 2024 AFP
