FIFA World Cup 2026: Majestic Spain stun France to reach World Cup final

Spain stunned tournament favourites France 20 to reach the World Cup final on Tuesday producing a tactical masterpiece to shatter Les Bleus dreams of winning the title for the third time A firsthalf penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a 58thminute Pedro Porro goal sealed an utterly clinical victory for the European champions at the ATampT Stadium in Arlington TexasSpain World Cup winners in 2010 will now face either Argentina or England in Sundays final in New Jersey France had entered the showdown as the overwhelming favourites for the tournament after a dazzling goalladen run to the semifinalsBut Frances vaunted front four of captain Kylian Mbappe Ballon DOr winner Ousmane Dembele Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise were snuffed out by a combination of Spanish poise and power Spain who had beaten France in their previous two competitive meetings had vowed to go on the front foot in the prematch buildup and they proved as good as their wordA commanding performance by Spains midfield led by Manchester City star Rodri and assisted by Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo never allowed the French to gain a foothold in the contest Spains midfield quickly overran the outnumbered French duo of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni passing around their opponents with ease to control the early exchangesThe first signs of French frustration came after just nine minutes when midfielder Rabiot was booked for treading on Olmos foot on the edge of the areaYet despite the early dominance it was France who looked the more threatening when venturing into the final third and it needed a desperate late block by Pau Cubarsi to thwart Mbappe in the 16th minute as the French captain looked to break clearEarly dominanceSpains early dominance got its reward in the 20th minute though when a hopeful cross by Marc Cucurella flew across the penalty area Lucas Digne didnt get enough purchase on his attempted headed clearance and as the Aston Villa player instinctively swung out a leg he kicked Yamal sending the Barcelona star crashing to the turfEl Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed immediately to the spot and after a brief delay as French players loitered Oyarzabal stepped up to sweep in a spotkick that beat the dive of French goalkeeper Mike MaignanFrances rocky start got worse after 31 minutes when key central defender William Saliba hobbled off with an injury to be replaced by Maxence Lacroix Spain almost doubled their lead with a sublime passing move on 38 minutes when wonderful interplay on the edge of the area sliced open Frances defence with Dayot Upamecanos block denying Fabian RuizFrance enjoyed their best spell in the closing minutes of the first half and only excellent anticipation from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon denied Mbappe after Rabiots clever through ball Spain though reasserted themselves at the start of the second half and Deschamps failure to adjust Frances tactics again left the Spanish midfield in chargeOn 58 minutes Spain struck the hammer blow Porro and Olmo worked a sensational onetwo on the edge of the area that sent Porro through and the Tottenham defender clipped a fine finish past MaignanOnly a fractional offside decision denied Spain a third goal in the 61st minute when Lamal had the ball in the net Deschamps made a flurry of substitutions but France were unable to penetrate Spains smothering defence their best chance coming when Mbappes shot was blocked at the near post by Simon French frustration was symbolised by Mbappe in the closing minutes booked for following through on Simon as Spain closed out the victoryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever