Spain produced a performance that led to a 2-0 win against global football powerhouse. France are a global football powerhouse because they have world-class attacking talent and all this failed to create anything yesterday against Spain.
The game began with Spain’s strong defense and control of possession until an early crucial breakthrough after Lucas Digne kicked Yama, leading to a foul which resulted in a penalty kick taken by Mikel Oyarzabal in the 22nd minute of the game.
Oyarzabal first-half penalty goal makes its fifth goal of this year’s World Cup and 30th goal in 60 international games for Spain.
In the 29th minute of the France center-back William Saliba had a back injury and received medical attention, but he couldn’t continue and was replaced by Maxence Lacroix.
But Spain continued to dominate possession till the end of the first half.
France made aggressive changes at the start of the second half, bringing on Manu Kone for Adrien Rabiot and later Désiré Doue for Bradley Barcola. Despite the fresh substitutions, this didn’t have any impact on Spain’s tactical dominance, which maintained intense pressure.
In the 58th minute of the game, Spain extended their lead through a pass from Dani Olmo at the top of the box to Spain right-back Pedro Porro, who technically slotted the ball past France goalkeeper Mike Maignan to make the game 2-0.
This actually made Spain be comfortable playing against France till Iván Barton blew the final whistle at 95+1.
The game win by Spain marked Spain’s third consecutive victory over France in major tournament semi-finals.
After today’s 0-2 loss against Spain, I want to discuss the tactical setup. Despite the fact that France, with world-class attackers, have four shots on goal and failed to find answers to Oyarzabal and Porro goals.
– Spain controlled possession (51%) and looked much sharper in transition.
– Spain controlled the midfield. Their passing, movement, and composure prevented France from building attacks.
– Clinical finishing matters. Spain converted their key chances through Mikel Oyarzabal (penalty) and Pedro Porro, while France failed to capitalize on theirs.
– Defensive organization wins big matches. Spain neutralized France’s dangerous attackers, including Kalian Mbps, and recorded another clean sheet.
– Discipline and teamwork beat individual brilliance. Spain looked like a more cohesive unit throughout the match, while France struggled to create rhythm.
– outstanding player is Lamine Yamal, who uses his pace and creativity caused France constant problems, even though he did not score.
My view is that France relied on individual brilliance while Spain relied on combination football. This makes Spain run rings around France tactically and technically.
Now that Spain advances to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Who we the this year FIFA World Cup cup