Spain ended France's bid for a third consecutive World Cup final with a clinical 2-0 win.
The best defense in the tournament was too stout for the best offense as Spain stifled France in a 2-0 victory to reach the FIFA World Cup final.
That marks three straight victories for the Spaniards over the French.
Led by Mikel Oyarzabal’s first half penalty and Pedro Porro in the second half, Spain ended France’s bid to reach a third consecutive World Cup final and become the third team ever to reach that achievement.
Spain was decisive and set the tone early as France chased their rhythm but never found an answer.
They completely controlled time of possession as they limited French captain Kylian Mbappé and stars Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé.
Deschamps tried to adjust at half, subbing in Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot at half and Désiré Doué for Bradley Barcola quickly thereafter, but they were unable to break Spain’s press.
Any opportunities they found were quicky squandered by Spain goalie Unai Simón who notched some stellar saves.
To read more about the meeting of arguably the best two teams in the semifinal, here is the full story from Football Roundtable writer Joe Ingman.
The win cements Spain as a true heavyweight in this year’s tournament as they tied Italy with 37 consecutive games without a loss.
They could hold the most consecutive wins with a victory in their second World Cup final, having won in their first and thus far only appearance against the Netherlands in 2010.
Spain will now await the results of Wednesday’s semifinal match between England and Argentina on to learn their opponent in the July 19 title match.
As for France, Mbappé’s electric run ends with eight goals on the race for the Golden Boot, tied by Lionel Messi, as Harry Kane chases them with six thus far.
They will end their World Cup in the third-place game on Saturday against the loser of Wednesday’s semifinal.
