DALLAS STADIUM — Long after the final whistle — as the lawnmowers came out to maintain the grass and broadcast crews were in the middle of their stand-ups — Spain fans remained. They were dancing and singing and chanting. "Ole!
Ole! Ole!" rang throughout the stadium where their team had just delivered a commanding performance, defeating mighty France, 2-0, to book a spot in the program’s second-ever World Cup final. This was the third straight summer Spain has knocked France out in the semifinals of a major tournament: There was the 2-1 victory at Euro 2024, then a thrilling 5-4 win in last year's Nations League, and now Tuesday's triumph behind goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro in front of 70,176 fans at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
La Roja are riding a 37-game unbeaten streak, and there’s an overwhelming sense that it will keep growing. "It’s a dream come true," an elated Porro said after the match via interpreter. "I couldn’t even dream of this.
I’m so happy. I’m so happy because of the team’s attitude from beginning to end. We gave it our all in order to go through to the final." Despite being Europe’s defending champion, Spain has been a bit overshadowed by other narratives at this World Cup.
The spotlight, instead, has mostly been on Lionel Messi and Argentina’s improbable comebacks, England giving fans reason to believe again, Kylian Mbappé racing Messi for the Golden Boot and Erling Haaland capturing hearts of soccer fans everywhere. Spain hasn’t relied on flair or dramatic moments to get results. Instead, it's been ruthlessly efficient, disciplined and organized, using an aggressive high press to neutralize one of the world’s most dangerous attacks.
Mbappé, who entered the semifinal with eight goals, managed just three shots and none on target. Spain has outscored its seven opponents, 13-1, and posted its record sixth shutout of this World Cup against a French side that had recorded 16 goals. This squad is so dominant, it didn’t even need a heroic performance from teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who is still waiting for his big moment.
Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, made a clever play to force a penalty in the first half that put Spain ahead early before having a goal called offside later on. They have such a wealth of depth that world-class players like Pedri, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino can come off the bench. "We did it with discipline, being organized, with sacrifice, with commitment, with effort," said Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente, who was late to his press conference because the team received a congratulatory call from King Felipe VI, the King of Spain.
"I think that what we do best as Spanish football players is interpret and read the game. They know how to behave in defensive and offensive phases and in the midfield. "And that’s the fruits of our labor in the academies — all the coaches in Spain, we really value what we’re doing at that level.
And this is another example that, in spite of being happy, we want more. And we want to take this World Cup and claim this title. That would be a really amazing achievement." Spain’s control of the game frustrated France to the point that Les Bleus never even had a chance to mount a comeback.
There have been plenty of examples this tournament of teams finding late goals and ways back into matches. France famously did it in the World Cup final four years ago and desperately hoped to do it again. But this time, France failed to capitalize on an empty net in the 81st minute.
Mbappé let his aggravation get the best of him when he was shown a yellow card in the 86th after colliding with goalkeeper Unai Simon, and three minutes later, he sent a free kick from just outside the box sailing over the crossbar. And now, the French superstar has to return to his Spanish club Real Madrid. France, No.
1 in FIFA’s rankings entering the semifinals, was a popular pick to win it all and expected to reach its third straight World Cup final. It will play in the third-place match instead. "We were below our standards," French manager Didier Deschamps said via interpreter.
"We should have been at our maximum and give it our all, and we did not, unfortunately." Spain will await the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Argentina and England. De la Fuente said he doesn’t care who wins. He’s friends with Lionel Scaloni, but thought the Three Lions were a favorite before the tournament began.
"When you’re facing a team like us," de la Fuente said, "we’re unbeatable. And that’s how we’re feeling right now."
