Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro found the net as Spain produced a controlled 2-0 semi-final victory over France, ending Les Bleus’ bid to reach a third consecutive World Cup final.
Spain are one victory away from claiming their second men’s FIFA World Cup title after defeating France 2-0 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington on Wednesday morning Australian time.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute before Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage early in the second half. The result sends the 2010 champions into their first World Cup final in 16 years and only the second in the country’s history.
France entered the semi-final with one of the most dangerous attacking groups in the tournament, but Spain quickly established control through Rodri and Fabián Ruiz in midfield. Luis de la Fuente’s side pressed intelligently, closed the spaces available to Kylian Mbappé and prevented France from developing the fast attacking combinations that had carried them through the previous rounds.
The breakthrough arrived when Lamine Yamal reacted quickest to a loose touch inside the penalty area. Lucas Digne attempted to clear the ball but caught the Spanish winger, leaving referee Iván Barton with little option but to award the penalty. Oyarzabal calmly converted, scoring his fifth goal of the tournament and his 30th goal in 60 appearances for Spain.
Spain continued to look the more composed side after taking the lead. France struggled to progress the ball through midfield, while Spain repeatedly found space around the edges of the French defensive structure. A poor clearance from goalkeeper Mike Maignan almost led to another goal before half-time, but Dayot Upamecano intervened to deny Ruiz from close range.
Didier Deschamps attempted to change the direction of the game with substitutions, but Spain struck again in the 58th minute. Porro exchanged passes with Dani Olmo, continued his run into the penalty area and guided a composed finish beyond Maignan to make it 2-0.
Yamal appeared to add a third shortly afterwards, only for the goal to be ruled out for a narrow offside. Spain remained firmly in control, patiently moving France across the field and limiting their opponents to speculative attempts from outside the penalty area.
The statistics underlined the effectiveness of Spain’s performance. Possession was relatively even at 51 per cent to 49 per cent, but France generated just 0.31 expected goals from 10 attempts. Only three French shots were on target, and none of Mbappé’s three efforts tested goalkeeper Unai Simón. Spain also had 10 attempts, producing 1.63 expected goals and converting both of their shots on target.
Porro was named player of the match after contributing at both ends of the field, while Spain recorded their sixth clean sheet in seven games at the tournament. France had conceded only twice across their first six matches, but their defence was unable to recover after falling behind for the first time at this World Cup.
Deschamps conceded afterwards that France had been “technically second best”, pointing to his team’s lack of precision and attacking aggression. De la Fuente praised the commitment and unity of his players, declaring that France had faced “the best team in the world” on the night.
Spain will now meet the winner of the second semi-final between defending champions Argentina and England in Sunday’s final at New York New Jersey Stadium. France will travel to Miami Gardens for Saturday’s third-place play-off, having missed the opportunity to become only the third nation to appear in three consecutive World Cup finals.
