A clinical and disciplined Spain advanced to their first FIFA World Cup final in 16 years after brushing aside neighbours France 2-0 in a high-octane semifinal clash at the AT&T Stadium on Tuesday. A first-half penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a brilliant second-half strike by Pedro Porro sealed a memorable victory for La Roja, crushing French dreams of reaching a third consecutive final.The victory marked the third consecutive summer that Spain has eliminated France in the final stages of a major tournament, following their triumphs in the Euro 2024 semifinals and last year’s Nations League. Teen sensation Lamine Yamal, who celebrated his 19th birthday just a day prior, proved to be the architect of destruction once again, validating his pre-match warning that France should fear this Spanish side.Spain opened the scoring in the 22nd minute after Yamal’s sharpness caught the French defense off guard. French veteran defender Lucas Digne misjudged a header in his own box, allowing a sprinting Yamal to steal in from behind. In a desperate attempt to clear the danger, Digne kicked the teenager, prompting the referee to point straight to the penalty spot.Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up calmly and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to net his fifth goal of the tournament. The strike marked the first time either heavyweight nation had trailed at any point in this entire World Cup campaign.France, the top-ranked team in the world, struggled to find their usual rhythm as Kylian Mbappé was kept quiet by a resolute Spanish backline. Spain completely took the game away from Les Bleus in the 58th minute. Pedro Porro initiated a beautiful give-and-go passing sequence with Dani Olmo before driving a powerful shot into the net to make it 2-0.Yamal almost added a third just moments later, but his close-range finish was ruled out by a tight offside call. France threw bodies forward late in the game but failed to breach the organized Spanish defense.Spain will now travel to East Rutherford, New Jersey, for Sunday’s grand finale at MetLife Stadium, where they will face either defending champions Argentina or England. Meanwhile, a disappointed French team will head to Miami Gardens on Saturday to compete in the third-place playoff match.“We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically, When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win. Spain respected their game plan. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm. We didn’t manage to do it. We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have,” Mbappe said after the match.
