Spain secures World Cup final berth
Spain has advanced to their first World Cup final since 2010 after defeating France 2-0 in a semi-final match held in Dallas. The Spanish side will now face either England or Argentina in the final, scheduled to take place in New Jersey on Sunday. The victory marked a dominant performance by Spain, particularly in midfield, where they controlled the game from start to finish.
The opening goal for Spain came from a penalty, converted by Mikel Oyarzabal. This was Oyarzabal’s fifth goal of the tournament, following a delay between the penalty being awarded and taken. The penalty decision itself generated some controversy, with France protesting a potential handball by Lamine Yamal prior to the foul that led to the spot-kick.
However, rules analyst Christina Unkel supported the on-field decision made by Salvadoran official Ivan Barton. Unkel stated that contact on Yamal’s sleeve would not be considered a handling offence, thus validating the penalty. Former player Gary Neville also commented on the incident, criticising France’s Lucas Digne for his defending and lack of awareness regarding Yamal’s position, comparing it to similar situations involving Harry Kane and Luka Modric earlier in the tournament.
Key moments and player performances
Spain’s second goal was scored by Pedro Porro, a wonderful finish that solidified their lead. Porro now has three goal involvements in the tournament. The Spanish defence, featuring Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte, was commanding, effectively neutralising France’s attacking threats, including Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele. Laporte, in particular, delivered a strong performance, maintaining a passing accuracy of over 90%.
Unai Simon, Spain’s goalkeeper, secured his sixth clean sheet in seven matches, making a crucial clearance to deny Mbappe early on. Midfielder Rodri was singled out for an outstanding performance, suffocating France’s midfield and enabling Spain’s dominance. Lamine Yamal, at 19 years old, was instrumental in winning the penalty and showed flashes of brilliance, despite having a goal disallowed for offside.
For France, goalkeeper Mike Maignan guessed correctly for the penalty but was beaten by the pace and power of Spain’s attack, and also struggled with distribution. Defender William Saliba was forced off with an injury after Spain had scored, a sad end to his World Cup campaign. Jules Kounde and Dayot Upamecano also had challenging outings, with France’s usually solid defence struggling against Spain’s offensive pressure.
French struggles and substitutions
France’s midfield, including Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot, was largely outplayed. Rabiot was fortunate to remain on the pitch after a foul on Fabian Ruiz, having already received a booking for an earlier challenge on Dani Olmo, and was replaced at the start of the second half. Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, who had been influential earlier in the tournament, were unable to make a significant impact in the semi-final.
Several substitutions were made by France in an attempt to change the game’s momentum. Maxence Lacroix came on for the injured Saliba, while Manu Kone and Desire Doue were introduced to try and rescue the match. Doue leaves the tournament with two goal involvements. Rayan Cherki and Theo Hernandez also entered the game later, but by then, Spain was already comfortably ahead at 2-0.
Spain also made several changes in the latter stages of the match, bringing on players like Ferran Torres, Mikel Merino, Pedri, Marcos Llorente, and Nico Williams to help see out the victory and secure their place in the final. Pedri’s introduction helped limit France to only a few chances in the closing minutes of the game.
The match concluded with Spain’s 2-0 victory, sending them to the World Cup 2026 final.
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Source: bbc.com
