Spain defeated France 2-0 in Texas on Tuesday to advance to their first World Cup final since 2010. Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scored the goals.
The Spaniards wrapped themselves around France like an anaconda from the opening whistle, strengthening their grip with every wave of pressure and possession until they had stifled a French attack that had appeared unstoppable all tournament.
The European champions are one win away from doubling the game’s richest prizes. England meets Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday to determine their final opponents for Sunday’s final.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called his team the “best team in the world.”
“We started almost four years ago with an idea, and we’ve been faithful to that idea, and it’s brought us here,” said de la Fuente. One of the best national teams in the world played against us today, but they had the best team in the world.”
France coach Didier Deschamps said his team was “devastated” by their World Cup semifinal loss to Spain on Wednesday before criticizing El Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton.
Kylian Mbappe blamed tactical and technical mistakes for France’s World Cup loss. Mbappé stated that tactical, technical, and overall performance issues hindered the match’s execution. He noted that in a World Cup semi-final, failing to perform as planned due to tactical, technical, or overall performance issues results in a loss. He noted that in a World Cup semi-final, failure to perform as expected results in a loss.
