Spain booked their place in the World Cup final with a commanding 2-0 win over France in the semifinal, dominating for large stretches as Didier Deschamps’ side struggled to find any rhythm in attack.
Spain made the breakthrough in the 22nd minute when Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty, sending his effort into the right side of the net despite goalkeeper Mike Maignan guessing correctly.
The penalty came after Lucas Digne misjudged a header, then caught Lamine Yamal with his boot as he spun to clear, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. It marked the first time France had trailed at this World Cup.
France pushed for an equalizer but were dealt a blow in the 28th minute when William Saliba went down clutching his back and was unable to continue, replaced by Wilfried Lacroix.
Kylian Mbappé had a handful of half-chances either side of halftime, including a low drive that Simon was forced to punch clear, but France went into the break trailing 1-0, having created little of note.
Spain doubled their lead in the 58th minute through a slick team move. Dani Olmo carried the ball into space before the play was switched from left to right, finding Pedro Porro, who exchanged a one-two with Olmo, took a couple of touches inside the box, and slotted past Maignan into the bottom corner.
Deschamps watched on in disbelief from the touchline as his side were carved open.
Spain continued to control proceedings after the second goal, with Yamal thinking he had added a third in the 61st minute, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. France made a flurry of substitutions in search of a response – introducing Désiré Doué,
Theo Hernández, Rayan Cherki and Christopher Nkunku – but the changes did little to shift the momentum, and chances remained scarce for the French side.
Spain came close to putting the game to bed late on, with Torres heading narrowly wide from close range following a substitutes’ introduction of Pedri and Mikel Merino.
Mbappé had one final sight of goal in stoppage time but blazed well over the bar, summing up France’s frustrating night in front of goal.
The result sends Spain, the reigning European champions, through to their second World Cup final, extending their dominant run through the tournament.
For France, the exit ends any hopes of back-to-back World Cup final appearances, with Deschamps left to reflect on a night where his side were, by his own visible reaction on the touchline, comprehensively outplayed.
Spain had made no changes to the side that beat Belgium in the previous round, with Merino – a decisive substitute in each of the previous two knockout matches – again named among the substitutes, and Fabián Ruiz preferred to Pedri in midfield.
France made two changes from their win over Morocco, with Aurélien Tchouaméni returning from injury in place of Manu Koné, and Bradley Barcola starting ahead of Désiré Doué.
(The Whistler)
