DALLAS — Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro did the damage, and France’s big names barely made a peep. Spain is heading to the World Cup final.
Oyarzabal buried a first-half penalty, his fifth goal of the tournament, and Porro added a cool finish after the break to give the European champions a 2-0 win Wednesday night at AT&T Stadium. The result denied France manager Didier Deschamps a third straight final appearance and likely closed the book on his 14-year reign in heartbreaking fashion.
Spain will face either England or Argentina on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They’ve also stretched their unbeaten run to 37 games, matching a record that’s stood for years.
France’s stars went silent
Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise were all largely invisible. That’s not a formula that works against a team as disciplined as Spain. Bradley Barcola started over Desire Doue and showed some early life with a run down the left, but it faded fast.
Spain opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Lucas Digne caught Lamine Yamal in the box while trying to clear and gave away a clear penalty. Oyarzabal stepped up and smashed it past Mike Maignan with zero hesitation.
Things got worse for France when center back William Saliba, already dealing with a back issue, limped off before halftime. Maxence Lacroix replaced him, but the damage was psychological as much as tactical.
Porro doubled it and that was that
Spain didn’t let up after the break. They squeezed France’s space, killed any rhythm before it could start, and kept pushing. Oyarzabal nearly scored again but fired over. Yamal kept tormenting Digne on the flank.
Deschamps sent on Doue for Barcola just past the hour mark, hoping for a spark. Instead, Spain scored seconds later. Porro played a quick exchange with Dani Olmo, then lifted his shot over Maignan. Game over.
Mbappe had a look in the 67th minute but Marc Cucurella got just enough of a toe on it to protect Unai Simon. Ferran Torres headed wide late for Spain, but by then it didn’t matter. They cruised to the finish.
Now Spain waits. England or Argentina. Either way, they’ve already shown they can handle the moment.
Leave a Comment