WC Vibes: Spain silence France on Bastille DaySpain outclass France to reach the World Cup final, while England prepare for a blockbuster semi-final against defending champions Argentina.
Teen sensation Lamine Yamal was correct when he said on the eve of the World Cup semi-final that France should fear Spain. Kylian Mbappe — France’s captain with 20 goals in his 20 World Cup games before the semi-final — Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, who had a tournament-high five assists, all fell silent at the Dallas Stadium in front of La Roja’s possessional and positional supremacy. “We were up against one of the best national teams in the world, but today, they were facing the best team in the world,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said at the post-match media conference after a dominant 2-0 win over France on Bastille Day took them to their second ever World Cup final. Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the spot after Yamal drew a foul, and Pedro Porro added the second to complete the rout. Spain will face either defending champions Argentina or England in the final on Sunday in New Jersey. “So difficult to get to this moment, but we want more,” Spain midfielder Rodri said. “We want to win this World Cup.” Spain’s captain Rodri, now 30, was 14 years old when they last entered the final and lifted the World Cup in 2010. Also Read: FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain’s perfect game knocks out France After trying to become only the third team — West Germany (1982, 1986, 1990) and Brazil (1994, 1998, 2002) have achieved the feat — to reach three consecutive World Cup finals, France instead will play in the third-place game in Miami on Saturday. “Spain has been able to defend well,” departing France coach Didier Deschamps said through a translator post-match. “They’ve closed out all the spaces and also we’ve made some technical mistakes. So, it is difficult to create problems when the technical level is below standard.” This win marked the third season in a row that Spain beat France in a tournament semi-final. Yamal scored in a 2-1 win in the 2024 European Championship semi-finals just days before his 17th birthday, and La Roja won 5-4 in Nations League last-four match last year. “It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball. That’s what we let them do,” said Mbappé, who got none of his three shots on target. “It’s difficult when you don’t change the play of Spain.” Spain have outscored opponents 12-1 since a scoreless draw against surprising Cape Verde to open their World Cup campaign. The lone goal allowed by goalkeeper Unai Simon was in the quarter-final game against Belgium that snapped his World Cup record of 650 minutes without conceding. This World Cup run has extended Spain’s unbeaten streak in regular time to 37 matches (28 wins and nine draws) since March 2024. That broke the country’s previous record of 35 in a row from 2007-09. The loss broke France’s record-matching streak of six consecutive World Cup wins, which the team also accomplished in the 2018 and 2022 editions. RICE DECLARED FIT TO START England coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed on Tuesday that Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was fit to start in the World Cup semi-final against reigning champions Argentina. “Everyone is fit to start and everyone was in training except for Jarell (Quansah) who is suspended and Jordan Henderson,” Tuchel told reporters in Atlanta on the eve of the second semi-final. Also Read: Argentina vs England Fifa World Cup semi-final: Messi and Bellingham headline an intriguing contest Henderson is out after breaking his arm in a freak accident at the end of England’s win over co-hosts Mexico in the last 16. Rice has been struggling with illness and came off at half-time in the quarter-final victory over Norway. “Rice is ready to start and as well recovered as possible,” said Tuchel, who was excited by the prospect of seeing England renew their long-standing rivalry with Argentina. “It is a big rivalry, two big football nations, everyone who loves football and follows the World Cup knows about this and about what it brings,” said the German.
“We expect an intense and emotional match, with a lot of momentum swings.” The history surrounding the fixture includes the 1986 quarter-final in Mexico City when Diego Maradona scored twice to knock England out, the first with the infamous ‘Hand of God’ and the second one of the greatest goals of all time. There was also the 1998 last-16 tie which Argentina won on penalties after David Beckham was sent off in Saint-Etienne. “We don’t use it as a fuel,” Tuchel said of the rivalry. “We know why we are here, we know what we want, we were never shy of expecting that from ourselves, and of saying it or of dreaming it. We are in the semi-finals, and we arrive very hungry. We want to have the next win. We respect our opponent but we don’t dip into historic events and we don’t make it bigger than it is.” MORE THAN ‘IT’S COMING HOME’ For three decades, “It’s Coming Home” has been inseparable from England teams at major tournaments. Born out of Three Lions ahead of Euro ‘96, the phrase originally referred to football returning to its modern birthplace as England hosted the competition. While it has often been dismissed as overconfidence by rival fans, the song was never about certainty. It was about hope. After 60 years since winning their first World Cup, it captured the familiar cycle of optimism, disappointment and the stubborn belief that maybe this time would be different. Over the years, however, “It’s Coming Home” has almost become bigger than the song itself; a slogan, a meme and a phrase that resurfaces every tournament, whether England win or lose.
But every tournament creates its own soundtrack, and this World Cup has quietly added new chapters. Unlike previous editions, FIFA asked participating nations to submit songs for different matchday moments from goal celebrations to post-match victories. England’s playlist included familiar favourites such as “Hey Jude” by The Beatles and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Yet it was Oasis’ “Wonderwall” that unexpectedly captured the imagination of players and supporters alike. Also Read: A rivalry history refuses to leave behind The moment arrived after England’s opening victory over Croatia. As Wonderwall echoed around the stadium in Dallas, thousands of England fans instinctively sang along. The players stayed back, listening before joining in themselves. What began as a post-match celebration quickly became a ritual. Every victory since has ended the same way, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and the rest of the squad standing in front of the travelling support, singing together rather than simply applauding. Alongside Wonderwall, “Hey Jude” has found a second life, helped in no small part by Jude Bellingham’s name lending itself perfectly to the Beatles classic. After England’s quarter-final win over Norway, supporters, players and even David Beckham were seen singing both songs long after the final whistle, underlining how music has become part of England’s identity during this campaign. THE BALOGUN REPRIEVE AND MANY RED FACES Not all favours can leave a man happy. Ask Folarin Balogun. The USA forward courted a controversy not of his making, and has admitted that the intervention of President Donald Trump to get FIFA to suspend his red card left his teammates nervous. Balogun was shown the red card for a foul in USA’s win over Bosnia in the Round of 32. But the US president got involved, and to the dismay of global football fans, and the anger of their next round opponents Belgium, Balogun was reinstated.
Belgium were really determined and hammered the co-hosts 4-1 before daring everyone to change the result. The episode added more pressure on officials, who were already under fire after many controversial decisions, especially the ones through VAR. Soon after the defeat, Balogun went up to Belgium coach to assure him to explain things, which Rudi Garcia appreciated and backed the young player. Now, Balogun has told US media outlet CBS that his return didn’t really help anyone. “My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team but when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to start a lot of controversy and I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it is something that is so unique,” Balogun, who scored three goals in the tournament, said. “The closer we got to the game, I focused the best I could but it was difficult. The outside noise is hard to avoid. My teammates are like my brothers, they gave me a lot of reassurance. There was nothing I could do or change.” The decision dented some of the goodwill USA had earned until then from even neutral fans. The FIFA decision was slammed by the European body, UEFA. TODAY’S RESULT Semi-final Spain 2 (Oyarzabal 22’-pen, Porro 58’) BEAT France 0 SECOND SEMI-FINAL England vs Argentina 00:30 (Thursday), Atlanta
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