Spain reached their first World Cup final since 2010 with a commanding 2-0 victory over France, prompting coach Luis de la Fuente to declare that his team are peaking at the perfect moment. Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro in the semi-final in Doha secured a dominant display against a highly fancied French side that never found its rhythm.
De la Fuente praises Spain's timing and unity
De la Fuente, who led Spain to the European Championship title, highlighted the team's progression from a goalless group-stage draw with Cape Verde to this emphatic semi-final win. “We’re so proud,” he said. “This amazing generation of players has such a great attitude and is a role model for so many different values. We are united for a common cause. Now we have the last step, the toughest one. We’ll have to improve and we’ll try to do so.”
He added: “Of course we would have loved to win the first game but this is a process and it was all planned for us to reach these key moments in the best shape possible. Now we are in great shape, the players are very excited and we have reached a peak after this long season.” De la Fuente allayed concerns about Lamine Yamal, who was walking gingerly after full-time, but confirmed that Porro sustained a muscular issue.
Porro's dream goal seals win
Pedro Porro, the Tottenham right-back, expressed his joy after scoring a well-worked goal to double Spain's lead. “It’s a dream come true,” Porro said. “Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine scoring a goal. I’m very happy with the team’s attitude from start to finish. We played a great game, we did everything to advance.” Oyarzabal had opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Lucas Digne's foul on Yamal.
Mbappé admits France's tactical failure
France never threatened, and Kylian Mbappé lamented a listless display that deviated from their gameplan. “I don’t think we played the match we wanted to play, whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level,” he told French broadcaster M6. “When you don’t do what you’re supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Our goal was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from settling into that slow, controlled rhythm, because when it comes to controlling the game they are better than us. We failed to do that.”
Mbappé confirmed that France were outnumbered three to two in midfield, a crucial factor against Spain. “Against Spain that’s a real problem,” he admitted. “When you put it all together, the result is a defeat. It’s a huge disappointment.” He will have a chance to add to his eight goals in Saturday's third-place playoff, but acknowledged the pain of the loss. “It’s something we have to face with our heads held high,” he said. “But right now there is immense disappointment. I find it hard to put into words just how disappointed the squad and I are. Football waits for no one. We have to start over, put this failure behind us, and learn from it.”
Deschamps questions referee level
France coach Didier Deschamps admitted his side fell short. “We are disappointed of course, the players are deflated,” he said. “The ambition was there, we are not lacking ambition. We are a group of competitors and there are some things we didn’t do well. I don’t want to take away from or throw away everything they’ve done so far. We should have been more dangerous on the pitch and made the game more difficult for Spain. We should have been 100% at our technical level as well as our physical level. We were not at 100% today unfortunately.”
Deschamps, whose 12-year tenure ends after Saturday's third-place game in Miami, launched a cryptic broadside at referee Iván Barton. “I’ll ask a loaded question and I won’t answer it,” he said. “Is the referee at the level required to officiate a World Cup semi-final?” Barton awarded Spain a penalty and booked two France players, but the exact nature of Deschamps' complaint remained unclear despite invitations to clarify. “I’m not saying this just because we lost today,” he added. “There were quite a few situations. There were some favourable calls, too.”
