Spain advances to World Cup Final

ARLINGTON, Texas — As the final whistle sounded Tuesday afternoon, Spain’s players celebrated and embraced. They gathered at midfield while La Roja’s faithful erupted inside Dallas Stadium. 

Kylian Mbappé and the rest of France’s national team scattered in stunned silence as Les Bleus were eliminated.

Spain beat France 2–0 before a crowd of 70,176, reaching the World Cup Final for the first time since they won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

“We started almost four years ago with an idea,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “We’ve been faithful to that idea, and it’s brought us here. Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them they had the best team in the world.

“That is the difference. These players deserve everything. Day after day, they’ve showed their commitment, solidarity, generosity, talent. They make the difficult look easy.”

Early penalty gives Spain control

Spain controlled long stretches of play and earned a breakthrough when forward France defender Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal in the box, drawing a penalty. Forward Mikel Oyarzabal converted past goalkeeper Mike Maignan with a left‑footed shot to the right corner of the net.

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He celebrated by running to the left of the goal with his index finger raised, jumping as his teammates embraced him. Spain stayed composed in possession throughout the match.

“We are immensely happy, immensely proud of what we are doing and what we are achieving, but I think having that calmness,” Oyarzabal said. “That composure as well that we have and that I think we convey is good for what’s coming.

’One step away’

“Obviously, we know where we stand. We’re just one step away from achieving something historic that none of us could have ever imagined.

“We’re just as calm as we were after the match against Cape Verde, that June 15, a long time ago now, when things didn’t go well. We’re just as calm and composed and trusting in what we can do.”

La Roja faithful chanted “España! España! España!” as the echoes rolled throughout Dallas Stadium. Their second goal came when defender Pedro Porro combined sharply with midfielder Dani Olmo before scoring with a right‑footed shot from the center of the box to the right corner.

Porro tugged his jersey toward his lips and kissed the Spanish crest on his chest before joining his teammates to celebrate near the right corner flag.

Yamal came close to a third goal for Spain by curling a ball in from close range, but the offside flag denied him.

France’s World Cup run ends in the semifinals. Les Bleus had navigated the knockout rounds successfully, including a 3–0 victory over Sweden in the Round of 32, a 1–0 victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16, and a 2–0 quarterfinal win over Morocco. Les Bleus transition to the third‑place match scheduled for Saturday at Miami Stadium.

“I don’t think we lacked solutions or desire today,” midfielder Rayan Cherki said. “They were simply better than us when it came to winning second balls and recovering possession.

“I think that’s where the game was decided because if we had won more of those balls, we could have caused them a lot more problems.”