On Bastille Day, Spain won against France in Dallas, and they are in the World Cup final for the first time since 2010. Mikel Oyarzabal scored from a penalty in the first half, and Pedro Porro set the final score after the break.
On Bastille Day, Spain won against France in Dallas, and they are in the World Cup final for the first time since 2010. Mikel Oyarzabal scored from a penalty in the first half, and Pedro Porro set the final score after the break.
France had a better start and threatened early through Kylian Mbappé. But it lasted twenty minutes. Then Lucas Digne, trying to hack a ball clear, kicked Lamine Yamal inside the box, and Oyarzabal slammed the penalty past Mike Maignan.
The second goal was the pick of the night. Porro exchanged passes with Dani Olmo on 58 minutes and slotted in with the calm of a man playing a training game. At that point, France had produced two shots and none on target. Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki came off the bench to force the issue, but they were unable to turn the pressure into goals.
Mbappé, who scored eight goals this tournament, was shackled all night. Unai Simón's saves, and a crucial Marc Cucurella tackle on Mbappé, kept the sheet clean. Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele found no more room than his captain. In the 86th minute, the frustration finally boiled over, and Mbappé was shown a yellow card for clattering into Unai Simón as the goalkeeper gathered the ball.
Luis de la Fuente did not bother hiding what it meant. "It's a dream come true," the Spain coach said. "This is a team effort, it's not about me."
Spain are now unbeaten in 37 matches in all competitions, a joint record for a European nation. Beating France in a semi-final has become a habit too: they did it at Euro 2024, again in the 2025 Nations League, and now on the biggest stage of all.
Mbappe pointed the finger at his own side. "We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have," the captain said, before shouldering the load: "As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility, and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didn't go."
Deschamps cut a darker figure. "There's a lot of disappointment. The players are devastated," he said. The French coach could not resist one barb at the officiating: "Was the referee up to the task of officiating a World Cup semi-final? I'm asking the question, but I don't want to answer it."
On Bastille Day, of all days, there were no fireworks.
This is only Spain's second World Cup final. The first ended in triumph in 2010, when Andres Iniesta scored the winner against the Netherlands.
Now they will face either the defending champions, Argentina, or England at the New York-New Jersey Stadium on Sunday. Win it, and they repeat the Euros-World Cup double last achieved in 2008-2012.
France get the game nobody wants: Saturday's third-place playoff, a subdued way to close what is expected to be Deschamps' farewell after 14 years. There is also a consolation prize for the French captain. Mbappe has the chance to win the Golden Boot.
