By Ossian Shine
ARLINGTON, Texas, July 14 (Reuters) – 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.
A contest that had promised so much, however, swiftly tilted into a lop-sided affair as the Spaniards controlled the tempo as comprehensively as the ball, and left France chasing shadows.
LETHAL ATTACK
France had come armed with the most lethal attack in world football, but it made little difference. Spain monopolised the ball, closed up the space and starved Les Bleus of the one thing their forwards needed — possession.
“One of the key factors that got us into the final was keeping possession of the ball,” Porro said. “It’s a victory for an incredible team, a group of spectacular players – a victory for all 26 players.”
Incredibly for an international team, the Spaniards played like the best-drilled of club sides, telepathic in their movement and passing. France were reduced to spectators almost from the start and mustered just two shots on target.
It took 22 minutes for Spain to break the deadlock. Marc Cucurella swung a deep cross into the French area that Lucas Digne brought down on his chest, but as the left back tried to clear, Yamal stepped across him and was caught by the follow through. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Oyarzabal drilled the penalty high into the net, giving Mike Maignan no chance despite the keeper diving the right way. France had not trailed at this World Cup and the scheduled hydration break could hardly have come at a better moment for Didier Deschamps, handing him an immediate opportunity to settle his rattled side.
Still, France could find no breathing space for their free-flowing football and could have been 2-0 down 15 minutes later when Fabian Ruiz was denied by Dayot Upamecano’s last-ditch challenge with the goal at his mercy.
So potent against every other nation, France were nullified. Michael Olise was a virtual spectator, smothered by Cucurella, Ousmane Dembele offered little and even their star skipper Kylian Mbappe was unable to conjure any magic.
Spain tightened the coil another notch just before the hour, when Porro doubled Spain’s lead, calmly exchanging passes with Dani Olmo before side-footing home, leaving France staring into the abyss.
There was to be no respite for the increasingly desperate French and Spain’s formidable side raised their arms and eyes to the skies as the final whistle blew.
(Reporting by Ossian Shine, editing by Ed Osmond)
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