Texas [U.S.], July 15 (ANI): Spain defeated France 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday (local time), extending its winning streak against Les Bleus to three matches following victories in the UEFA Euro 2024 semifinal and the 2025 UEFA Nations League semifinal.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half after Lamine Yamal was brought down inside the penalty area. Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s lead early in the second half, sealing a place in the World Cup final, where Spain will face either England or Argentina on July 19 in East Rutherford.
Oyarzabal has scored 18 goals in his last 20 appearances for Spain. His penalty made him the sixth player to reach 30 international goals for Spain, joining David Silva (35), Álvaro Morata (37), Fernando Torres (38), Raúl (44), and David Villa (59), according to FIFA.
Porro was named Player of the Match.
France suffered an early setback when central defender William Saliba was forced off with a back injury midway through the first half and was replaced by Maxence Lacroix.
Spain dominated possession and kept France’s attacking trio of Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé, and Ousmane Dembélé largely quiet to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
History was also against France. Before Tuesday’s match, only Argentina against Italy in 1990 and Croatia against England in 2018 had come back from a halftime deficit to win a FIFA World Cup semifinal.
Head coach Didier Deschamps introduced Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot at the break and later brought on Désiré Doué for Bradley Barcola in an attempt to shift the momentum.
However, Spain maintained control through relentless pressing and several key saves by goalkeeper Unai Simón.
Porro then capped off a flowing attacking move with Spain’s second goal, effectively putting the match out of France’s reach.
With the victory, Spain equaled Italy’s record of 37 consecutive unbeaten matches and advanced to only its second FIFA World Cup final. (ANI)
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