Dallas served as the stage for a masterclass in controlled aggression. Spain, the 2010 champions, have done it again. They have navigated the biggest...
Dallas served as the stage for a masterclass in controlled aggression. Spain, the 2010 champions, have done it again. They have navigated the biggest hurdle on their side of the draw, dispatching a France side that simply could not solve the puzzle. The final score, 2. 0, flatters Les Bleus. It could have been more.Didier Deschamps will be left to rue a familiar frustration. Since 2017, his French team have not beaten Spain. That is not a coincidence; it is a pattern. Spain's tactical flexibility once again proved the difference. They absorbed the early French pressure, a side that often looks so menacing in transitional play, and then picked them apart. France's low block, a tool they have used to devastating effect in previous rounds, was undone by swift, precise passing and the kind of clinical finishing that wins trophies. The Spanish midfield simply refused to be bullied.This was not just a victory. It was a statement. Spain are not here to just make up the numbers. They have a steel to their game now, a pragmatic edge that sits alongside their traditional flair. They did not try to walk the ball into the net for the sake of aesthetics. When the chance came, they took it. France, for all their individual brilliance, looked flat. They had no answer to Spain's press. For long stretches, they could not get their star players on the ball in dangerous areas. Squeaky bum time For neutral observers, it was a masterclass. For Deschamps, it was a nightmare.So, the 2010 champions wait. They will sit back this Wednesday and watch England and Argentina slug it out for the right to face them. The question now is simple: can anyone stop this Spanish machine Whoever comes through that other semi final knows they will face a team that has already conquered its bogey side. Spain are in the final. And on this evidence, they are the team to beat.
