DALLAS: Spain are through to the World Cup final. La Roja put on a clinical, disciplined display on Tuesday night, seeing off a much-fancied France side 2-0 at Dallas Stadium to book their spot in Sunday’s showpiece.
Luis de la Fuente’s men dictated the pace of the contest from the opening whistle, rarely allowing Les Bleus’ vaunted attacking trio room to breathe.
Spain broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Lamine Yamal — a day removed from his 19th birthday — won a penalty after being brought down by Lucas Digne inside the box. Mikel Oyarzabal made no mistake from the spot, sending Mike Maignan the wrong way to hand La Roja the lead.
The Spaniards doubled their advantage just after the hour mark. Pedro Porro combined in a slick one-two with Dani Olmo at the edge of the area before curling a well-placed finish into the bottom corner.
At the back, Marc Cucurella and Aymeric Laporte led a defensive unit that gave Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé precious little to work with, snuffing out France’s threat before it could take shape.
By the numbers: Spain finished the match with 56 per cent possession and an xG of 1.4 against France’s 0.3 — the lowest such tally for Les Bleus in a major tournament semi-final in more than 30 years. Sergio Rabiot and Mbappé picked up bookings for France, while Cucurella was the only Spanish player cautioned.
Records tumble: The clean sheet was Spain’s sixth of the tournament, making them the first side in World Cup history to achieve that feat in a single edition. Oyarzabal’s penalty, meanwhile, was his 18th goal in his last 20 caps and took him to 30 for his country — a milestone only five other Spanish players have reached.
Spain will now await the winner of the England-Argentina semi-final, with the World Cup final set for Sunday, July 19, at New York New Jersey Stadium. France, for their part, will turn their attention to Saturday’s third-place play-off.
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