Spain came out as winners in an all-European clash against rivals France in the semi-final of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
La Roja handed France a 2-0 defeat and dashed their hopes of a third consecutive appearance in the World Cup final.
Didier Deschamps’ men were touted by many as the tournament favorites way before the competition started and lived up to the hype during the group stages by beating Senegal, Iraq, and Norway to top Group I.
Les Bleus continued their dominance in the knockout phase by seeing off Sweden in the round of 32, before a narrow 1-0 win over Paraguay in the round of 16.
Morocco became their next victim in the quarter-final before booking a date with Spain in the semis.
Due to their majestic and free-scoring form, people predicted France would put Spain to the sword.
Spain started the tournament very slowly and many people (including me) had doubts about them, but after watching how they played against Uruguay and Austria, I started seeing a pattern.
Their ball looks boring on the face of it, but these Spaniards know what they are doing, and it’s evident that they don’t concede.
They choose control over chaotic football. Keeping the ball, working through the channels, and limiting the opposition is their greatest priority.
When I predicted that they were going to beat Belgium, I thought they would do so with the same monotonous approach. But I was a bit wrong as the first half of the game was fluid.
They could have buried Belgium in the first half if not for their profligacy. Nonetheless, they overcame a stubborn Belgium side.
A few hours before their clash against France, I posted on my Facebook account elaborating on why Spain would go to the final at the expense of France. My post was met with derision and “trolling.”
France’s team is built on attack and individual brilliance. The field becomes a hard row to hoe when you stifle the guile of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and Michael Olise.
Luis de la Fuente’s men made sure the connection between their opponents’ midfield and attack was broken, and that was enough to frustrate the front line that had become a problem to tame in the tournament.
A first-half goal scored by Mikel Oyarzabal from the penalty spot and Pedro Porro’s second-half strike fired the Spaniards to a second World Cup final in their history.
