Spain’s Porro: ‘A Dream Come True’
Spanish defender Pedro Porro celebrated his team’s semifinal win as “a dream come true.”
“I think that we did such an amazing game,” he told Fox Sports after the match. “We gave it our all in order just to go through to the final. We knew that we’re a very tough team, that we’re doing things really well, and this is our team.”
Porro secured the second goal in Spain’s 2–0 victory.
Spain Beats France 2–0
Spain heads to the World Cup final for only the second time in its history; in 2010 the team beat the Netherlands to win the title.
The European champions handed France its second-ever World Cup knockout defeat in regulation. Every other loss Le Bleus faced came down to extra time or penalties.
Kylian Mbappé’s campaign for the Golden Boot is capped at eight goals and three assists. He was deprived of any goals today by Spain’s defense and goalkeeper Unai Simón, who now has a record six clean sheets in a single World Cup tournament.
Spain faced 10 shots throughout the entire game, requiring Simón to make only three saves.
Spain will now head to New York New Jersey Stadium to face the winner of the semifinal match between Argentina and England on July 19.
France, meanwhile, will head to Miami to face the loser of that match on July 18.
England and Argentina face off in Atlanta at 3 p.m. ET on July 15.
7 Minutes of Stoppage Time Added
France has seven minutes to get past Spanish goalie Unai Simón twice to stay alive and force extra time.
Meanwhile, Spain is seven minutes away from its second-ever trip to the World Cup final and Simón is seven minutes away from his record-setting sixth clean sheet of the tournament.
Mbappé Misses Free Kick
France’s top goal scorer misses a free kick deep in the attacking zone, sending the ball high and wide of the net 89 minutes into play.
Mbappé Handed Yellow Card
Referees hand Kylian Mbappé a yellow card for making late, avoidable contact with Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón 86 minutes in.
Simón Shuts France Down Again
Unai Simón’s aggressive play against Le Bleus manifests in two heart-stopping moves for Rojas fans.
First, he runs 40 yards out of his net to try and grab the ball from charging Frenchmen, but fails to secure the ball. However, he is able to recover and deny Désiré Doué the back of the net.
Then, shortly after that, Simón makes a diving save, collides with Théo Hernandez, and gets the ball in his face.
Subs: Spain Swaps Olmo for Merino, Ruiz for Pedri
After Yamal’s foul, Spain makes two more substitutions. Dani Olmo ends his match, stepping aside for Mikel Merino. Meanwhile, Fabián Ruiz comes off the pitch to be replaced by Pedri.
Yamal Fouls Mbappé
Lamine Yamal collides with an attacking Kylian Mbappé at 76 minutes, sending the striker rolling on the ground in pain and triggering a foul.
France gets the free kick, but expresses its dissatisfaction, arguing in vain with the referee that Yamal should have received a yellow card for the illegal contact.
Subs: Spain Swaps Oyarzabal for Torres
Spain makes its first substitution of the match at the 74th minute, ending Mikel Oyarzabal’s game and replacing the match’s first goal scorer with Ferran Torres.
Subs: France Swaps Olise for Cherki, Digne for Hernandez
France comes out of the hydration break with two more sets of fresh legs. Dechamps pulls Michael Olise in exchange for Rayan Cherki, and pulls Lucas Digne for Théo Hernandez.
Mbappe and Dembélé are still on the pitch. France has used all of its allowed substitutions.
2nd Half Hydration Break
Spain retains a 2–0 lead as both teams go into the second half hydration break around 70 minutes into the match. Spain continues to dominate the second half, upping its shot count to eight, two of which were on target.
France has created some opportunities, including one from Mbappe at 67 minutes deflected just wide. Le Bleus have had six corner kick opportunities so far.
Yamal Deemed Offside, No Goal
Lamine Yamal nearly adds another goal to Spain’s lead just three minutes later. He beats French defender Lucas Digne one-on-one and launches the ball into the top left corner. But the referee deems the young star offside at the start of his charge.
Pedro Porro Gives Spain 2–0 Lead
Pedro Porro catches a pass from a falling Dani Olmo, finding himself all alone in a pocket right in front of the net, and beats French goalkeeper Mike Maignan at 58 minutes.
France Subs Doue for Barcola
After 57 minutes on the pitch, French forward Bradley Barcola sits down and is replaced with Désiré Doué.
2nd Half Underway
France now has 45 minutes to erase a one goal deficit against the reigning European champions, who have only allowed one goal in the entire tournament.
If the game is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, 30 minutes extra time, split into two 15-minute halves, will be played. If that still is not enough time to determine a winner, then the match will move to a penalty kick contest.
Throughout the half, Spain will have an opportunity to change five of its players to get fresh legs out on the pitch. France, meanwhile, will only be able to swap four players after Saliba’s injury forced Le Bleus to use one of the substitutions.
France’s head coach, Didier Deschamps, started the half using one of those substittions, pulling midfielder Adrien Rabiot and unleashing Manu Koné. Rabiot played most of the first half under a yellow card, and a second one would turn into an automatic red card—ejecting him from the match and France having to play the rest of the match down one man.
Halftime: Spain Leads 1–0
Spain’s penalty kick remains the only goal scored in this semifinal match as both sides return to the locker room for half-time.
The Rojas continued to build momentum in the final 20 minutes of the half. While Le Bleus had bursts of attacking force, earning opportunities for corner kicks, they were quickly shut down by the Spanish defense. Most of the play stayed on France’s side of centerfield.
France also found itself cut off at the start of a goal-scoring opportunity by multiple offside calls.
France has never won a World Cup match in which it was trailing at half time. The Bleus’ record in this situation is 0 wins, one draw, and 11 losses.
6 Minutes of Stoppage Time Added to First Half
The added time accounts for the time lost when play stops, such as when the ball goes out of bounds, fouls are called, free kicks are set up, or when play is stopped for injured players.
Yellow for Spain
The Roja’s first foul this match is a yellow card. It is given to Marc Cucurella for illegal contact with French player Michael Olise 31 minutes into play.
Ousmane Dembélé takes a free kick towards the net but it is neutralized by Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón.
France’s Saliba Suffers Injury, Comes Off Pitch
French defender William Saliba is slowly escorted off the pitch by medical staff. He is replaced by Maxence Lacroix, who has only played a combined 90 minutes throughout this tournament.
Hydration Break
After 25 minutes, Spain leads France 1–0 thanks to the penalty kick from Mikel Oyarzabal.
But his shot on goal was a rare instance thus far in the match. Spain only has two shots on net and France only has one.
Both teams remain relatively even in terms of ball possession. But France continues to have self-sabotaging issues, earning three fouls, including one yellow card, already.
Spain Scores on Penalty Kick, Leads 1–0
Mikel Oyarzabal scores his fifth goal of the tournament, drawing first blood 22 minutes into the semifinal.
After a hit on Lamine Yamal down in the penalty box area is ruled illegal by the referees, a penalty kick is triggered. Oyarzabal beats French goalkeeper Mike Maignan in the one-on-one contest.
Mbappé Starts to Threaten Spain’s Back Line
Sixteen minutes into play, Mbappé nearly has a breakaway, charging downfield and fighting three Spanish defenders on his own before ultimately being shut down, settling with his team’s first corner.
France Gets First Yellow Card, Spain Fails to Score on Free Kick
Spain is awarded its first free kick deep in the attacking zone less than 10 minutes into the game. French midfielder Adrien Rabiot is given a yellow card for an illegal hit on Spain’s Dani Olmo right at the top of the penalty box.
The close proximity to the French net gives Spain the opportunity to turn a free kick into a shot on goal. The shot is taken by Álex Baena right into a wall of French defenders, and efforts by Lamine Yamal to recover are of no avail.
Spain Kicks Off Semifinal
A post-anthem coin toss gives Spain first possession of the game. But their control doesn’t last long as France is already pressing in on Unai Simón’s goal just over one minute into play with Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé getting noticeable touches.
Possession continues to be contested across midfield and the score is 0–0 going into the fifth minute of play.
Moment of Silence Held for Nice, France, Attack
Both teams gathered at center field for a moment of silence in honor of the 10th anniversary of a Bastille Day terrorist attack in Nice, France.
Just before that, the visibly mixed crowd at Dallas Stadium erupted in song, singing the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise.”
Mbappé, Dembélé Start for France, Oyarzabal and Yamal for Spain
Stars from both benches are starting this World Cup semifinal.
On the French side, Mbappé will look to extend his lead for the Golden Boot. Alone up front in a 4-2-3-1 configuration, he has Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, and Bradley Barcola in the line behind him. In goal, Mike Maignan will look to earn his fifth clean sheet of the tournament.
For Spain, a 4-1-2-3 configuration puts Mikel Oyarzabal, Yamal, and Álex Baena up front while Simón starts in net, looking for a record sixth clean sheet this World Cup.
Up to this point, Spain has remained unbeaten when Yamal is in the starting lineup, logging 20 wins and six draws.
France, Spain Clash in World Cup Semifinal
A battle of the Pyrenees is set get underway in Dallas on July 14 as Mbappé leads the French “Le Bleus” against Simón and the Spanish Roja to determine which nation will advance to the World Cup final.
France will be looking to at least repeat its run in 2022; a performance that got them into the championship final. That year, Mbappé also earned the coveted Golden Boot trophy—given to whoever scores the most goals throughout the tournament. As of July 14 Mbappé is leading that competition. He’s tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi with eight goals, but is considered the frontrunner because he has more assists (three, versus Messi’s two).
Mbappé, his goal-scoring teammate Dembélé, and the rest of the French 11 will have to become only the second team across the entire World Cup to get a ball to the back of the Spanish net.
Simón, Spain’s goalkeeper, set a world record for the longest stretch of gameplay without conceding a goal. He enters the semifinals with five clean sheets and only one goal made against him from Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere.
Spain is also bringing goal-scoring firepower of its own with Oyarzabal, who leads his team with four goals, and 19-year-old wunderkind Yamal.
Whoever wins the game will face either Argentina or England in the final match outside New York City on July 19. Whoever loses will face the loser of the Argentina–England game for a third-place playoff in Miami on July 18.