Spain Dominate France to Reach World Cup Final as Mbappé and Les Bleus Fall Flat in Semi-Final Showdown

Dallas, Texas – Spain grandly swatted aside a strangely subdued France to reach Sunday's World Cup final, with Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scoring to secure a 2-0 victory that was far more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.

Let this be a lesson for everyone foolish enough to cast Spain as underdogs. How they enjoyed dishing it out here, reducing France to passengers and surely guaranteeing nobody will make the same mistake twice. They will be favourites to win Sunday's final, whether that turns out to be a rerun against England or a time-bending meeting of Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi, and those minded to back against Luis de la Fuente's side will need a mightily compelling reason.

France never came close to finding one. Kylian Mbappé had one last go in added time, shooting harmlessly over, and his forlorn expression upon glancing up to check the clock said more than enough. He knew the game was up but, in truth, that had barely been in question since midway through the first half. Spain smothered France but outplayed them too, picking their moments to penetrate and adding a beautifully worked goal from the rampaging Pedro Porro.

Oyarzabal's Cool Penalty

The first half had dripped with mutual respect until Lucas Digne, tasked with defending Marc Cucurella's cross from the left, nodded the ball up in the air and shaped to smack it clear. He was oblivious to the onrushing Lamine Yamal, who nudged it past him and was sent flying. Iván Barton, the referee, hardly needed to think twice about awarding a penalty.

Oyarzabal lashed the spot kick towards the right-hand side of the net, halfway up, and though Maignan guessed correctly, the keeper had no chance. What a penalty under pressure!

Porro's Stunning Finish

Spain's second goal was a thing of beauty. Olmo strode into space down the middle. The play was first switched to the left, then to the right for Porro, who played a wall pass off Olmo and broke into the box. Porro took a couple of touches and sidefooted past Maignan and into the bottom right. What a move! What a finish! What trouble France are in now!

A Dominant Display

It was ultimately a triumph of function over form. That is not to play down the magic that sparkles from Lamine Yamal's boots or the fizzing invention of Dani Olmo, who was behind most of Spain's best attacking work. The point is that their collective swamped the individual flair of France, whose front four had run amok earlier in the tournament but were reduced to faulty, spluttering components by a superbly oiled machine.

Spain knew they would need to assert control and deny France any oxygen on the transition. They were perfectly happy to let long stretches pass with little happening, popping the ball between their constantly available midfielders and breaking up play by fair means or foul if they were caught out.

Mbappé and France Frustrated

France did not create a chance before the interval, unless one is generous enough to note Unai Simón dashing from his box to clear ahead of Mbappé. In the end Didier Deschamps, two wins from undisputed greatness having led another team to the business end, got the big calls wrong.

It hardly helped that William Saliba departed through injury shortly after Oyarzabal's spot-kick. Nor did it assist that Adrien Rabiot, booked early for a foul on Olmo, was a walking yellow card from that moment and made way at half-time.

Spain's Defensive Solidity

The outcome was beyond doubt. A narrow offside call denied Lamine Yamal a third goal. The substitute Ferran Torres headed wide and the lack of belief from France, who cut the figure of a team that could not comprehend their fate, was palpable from the stands.

Mbappé awoke with an angled effort that Simón batted behind, shortly afterwards seeing Cucurella deflect a shot wide, but France were never allowed a serious opening.

Key Incidents

Several key moments defined the match:

• 20' – Lucas Digne concedes penalty with wild kick at Lamine Yamal
• 22' – Oyarzabal scores from the spot
• 58' – Porro scores stunning second
• 61' – Yamal has goal ruled out for offside
• 76' – Yamal brings down Mbappe, no card
• 83' – Simon collides with Hernandez, continues

What's Next

Spain will play either Argentina or England in the World Cup final on Sunday. They were magnificent from the very first kick until the last. Completely dominant. France had a collective off day, but that's because Spain were relentless.

Rodri his usual regal self in the middle, Cucurella a ball of energy, Oyarzabal clinical, Olmo and Yamal elegant. And what a finish by Porro! France by contrast had nothing. Poor Digne had a nightmare, Tchouaméni looked leggy, Olise was surprisingly non-existent, Mbappé blunt and low on ideas.

As an ashen-faced Didier Deschamps stares bleakly into the distance, contemplating the end of the road, his opposite number Luis de la Fuente radiates dignified delight. His team were simply outstanding today, and on this showing, they'll take some beating in the final.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said: "We started almost four years ago with an idea and we've been faithful to that idea and it's brought us here … today we faced one of the best national teams in the world … but in front of them they had the best team in the world … that is different … these players deserve everything … day after day they've showed their commitment, their solidarity, their generosity, their talent … they make the difficult look easy."