Spain Beat France 2-0 to Reach World Cup Final

Spain are through to the World Cup final after beating tournament favourites France 2-0 in the semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night.

Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro sent Luis de la Fuente's side into their second World Cup final, where they will face the winner of the England-Argentina semi-final. France, who had gone into the game as many people's pick to win the tournament, now head to Saturday's third-place playoff, bringing an end to Didier Deschamps' 14-year reign as coach.

Oyarzabal put Spain ahead from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal inside the box. Porro doubled the lead early in the second half, finishing off a slick move started by Dani Olmo. Porro's display earned him the player of the match award, with a rating of 8.1.

Player of the Match goes to Pedro Porro

France's night got harder when centre-back William Saliba limped off injured after half an hour, forced off for Maxence Lacroix. Coach Deschamps threw on attacking reinforcements in Manu Koné and Désiré Doué, and France did have more of the ball in dangerous areas, but they rarely turned that pressure into real chances. They didn't manage a shot on target until the 81st minute.

The stats told the story of the game. Spain had far better quality chances despite an even shot count, and were dominant in duels, winning 56% of the battles for the ball and 17 of 25 aerial contests. Spain also made zero errors that led to a shot on their goal, while France made two.

In midfield, captain Rodri controlled the tempo, completing 59 of 68 passes and winning 11 duels, while Fabián Ruiz did the dirty work behind him with seven recoveries. At the back, young centre-back Pau Cubarsí was calm and composed throughout, and goalkeeper Unai Simón made three saves to keep his side's clean sheet, meaning Spain have conceded just once in the entire tournament so far.

For France, Kylian Mbappé had a quiet night by his standards, failing to hit the target in three attempts and picking up a late yellow card. Ousmane Dembélé and substitute Doué offered some spark going forward, but it wasn't enough to break down Spain's defence.

Spain will now travel to New Jersey to prepare for Sunday's final, aiming to win the World Cup for the first time since 2010.