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.

France vs Spain, FIFA World Cup semifinal Highlights

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.

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 without mercy as it is with the ball.

Spain’s Pedro Porro scores his side’s second goal during the World Cup semifinal match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas
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AP

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.

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.

Spain’s Pedri tries to poke the ball away from France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) during the World Cup semifinal
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AP

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.

France are not afraid of Spain going into their World Cup semifinal on Tuesday (July 21, 2026), defender ​Ibrahima Konate said on Sunday, but they are conscious of their opponents’ ‌quality and their near-perfect backline.

Spain have conceded only one ​goal in the entire tournament to reach the last ⁠four in search of a second World Cup title.

France, winners in 2018 and finalists four years ago, know Spain very well, having lost to them ‌in the Euro 2024 last four and also in last year’s Nations League semifinals.

“You cannot fear anyone,” France centre-back ‌Konate told a press conference. “We will now prepare as ‌best ⁠as possible and hope the result in the end ⁠will favour us.”

“Spain are an exceptional team, with a lot of individual quality, so we won’t be focusing on just one player even though Lamine (Yamal) is a ​great player,” said Konate, who ‌had a brief substitute appearance in the win over Norway in their final group match.

Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba have been France’s starting centre-backs, as the tournament favourites eye their fifth World ‌Cup final.

The French have reached four of the last seven ​World Cup finals. Should they take part in the July 19 showdown in New York, they will ⁠sustain the comparison with West Germany, arguably the ultimate tournament nation with four finals between 1974 and 1990.

But Konate said the French were ‌not wasting any thoughts on what might be.

“We are staying humble, we won’t fall into that trap,” he said.

They will need to find a way to break down this World Cup’s most effective backline, as well as contain as much as possible Lamine’s runs down the wings.

“I would not say ‘fear’ but we are conscious of ‌their quality,” said fellow France centre-back Maxence Lacroix. “They have won all their matches (except ​a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in the group), so we respect them. They have high quality players ⁠but we want to win.”

Top of the list is Spain winger Lamine, ⁠who has earned praise from his coach for keeping opponents’ defenders busy as teammate use the spaces created.

“We will ‌defend well, the best,” Lacroix said. “Lamine is a very good player and he has shown he can hurt teams at this ​World Cup. We will do the work that is needed.”

Catches often win matches, but dropped chances can cost dearly. While India’s drops have not yet proven fatal in the ICC T20 World Cup, the frequency of missed opportunities has emerged as a worry for Suryakumar Yadav’s side ahead of Thursday’s semifinal against England.

Bowling coach Morne Morkel conceded that the lapses in the field remain a concern as the tournament enters its decisive phase.

“Obviously nobody looks to drop a catch on purpose. It’s not like we don’t train for it,” Morkel said on Wednesday on the sidelines of India’s optional practice session. “There is a lot of focus on our fielding, and that was one of the key points heading into the World Cup. The guys train and work hard on their fielding. At times, is it a mindset thing? I can’t answer that.”

Through seven matches in the tournament, India has dropped 13 catches — the most by any team so far. In the virtual quarterfinal against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday, three chances went down, with Abhishek Sharma dropping two and Tilak Varma spilling another in the deep.

Morkel acknowledged that positioning fielders optimally has not always been straightforward in the fast-paced T20 format. “For us it’s just about continuing to do the hard work and really focusing on getting certain players into the hot spots and the right areas,” he said.

“At times it’s hard to do that because you’re also working against an over-rate. That’s the responsibility the players need to take on the field — to find yourself in a position, in the hot zones, and to work a little bit extra. If we can get the right players in those positions, hopefully we can take the catches.”

Despite the youthful energy in the squad, the current Indian line-up still has a few fielders a captain might prefer to hide in the outfield. In T20 cricket, though, there are few hiding places. On a ground like the Wankhede, where momentum can shift in a matter of deliveries, India will hope that come Thursday night, no fielder is left wishing a dropped chance had not come his way.