Spain booked their place in the FIFA World Cup final for the first time since winning the tournament in 2010 with a commanding 2-0 victory over France in Tuesday’s semi-final in Texas.
European champions Spain produced a dominant display from start to finish, controlling possession and neutralising France’s highly rated attack to secure a place in Sunday’s final.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after Lamine Yamal was fouled inside the penalty area. Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage shortly before the hour mark, finishing off a well-worked move with Dani Olmo.
Despite arriving at the semi-final with one of the tournament’s most prolific attacks, France struggled to create meaningful opportunities, managing only two shots on target throughout the match.
“It’s a dream come true. To be honest, I never even imagined anything like this, not even in my wildest dreams,” Porro said after the victory. “We did everything right against a team that was having a brilliant World Cup.”
The win leaves Spain one victory away from completing a World Cup and UEFA European Championship double.
France coach Didier Deschamps admitted his side had been outplayed.
“The players are devastated, but we have to be clear-headed. Technically, we were second best,” he said. “We lacked technical precision and energy. Spain are very good at reading interceptions and breaking up attacks. We would have liked to cause them more problems going forward.”
Captain Kylian Mbappe also acknowledged Spain’s superiority.
“We did not produce the performance we wanted, tactically, technically or in terms of our overall level,” Mbappe said. “When you fail to do what you are supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you do not win.”
He added that Spain executed their game plan effectively, while France struggled with communication in their pressing and lacked quality in possession.
Spain will learn their opponents when England face Argentina in the second semi-final in Atlanta, with the winners advancing to Sunday’s World Cup final.
France will now compete in the third-place playoff after seeing their hopes of lifting the World Cup come to an end.