ARLINGTON – Spain suffocated France deep in the heart of Texas on Tuesday, powering into their first World Cup final since lifting the trophy in 2010 with a spellbinding 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.
From the opening whistle, the Spaniards wrapped themselves around France like an anaconda, tightening their grip with every wave of pressing and every spell of possession until the life had been squeezed from a French attack that had looked irresistible throughout the tournament.
“A dream come true … to be honest, I never even imagined anything like this, not even in my wildest dreams,” Porro said. “We did everything right – everything we needed to do – against a team that was having a brilliant World Cup.”
The European champions are now within one victory of completing a double of the game’s biggest prizes. They will discover their final opponents on Wednesday when England face Argentina in Atlanta for a place in Sunday’s showpiece.
France must prepare for an anticlimactic third-place match after a chastening Bastille Day loss.
“The players are devastated, but we have to be clear-headed: technically, we were second best,” coach Didier Deschamps said. “That is on us.
“We lacked technical precision and energy. The Spanish are very good at breaking up moves by reading interceptions and passes. We would have liked to cause them more problems going forward.”
For a country that waited generations for its first World Cup, a second title 16 years later would herald the arrival of another Spanish golden era, this one built around Lamine Yamal and a side as comfortable playing without mercy as they are with the ball.
Expectation and tension were high in Arlington as ringside announcer Bruce Buffer, a man who has never knowingly used an indoor voice, bellowed the teams onto the pitch to launch a heavyweight clash worthy of the introduction. (Reuters)