Spain beat France 2-0 in Dallas. European champions rarely win the next World Cup.
Spain, the European champions, beat France 2-0 with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. The World Cup final is at MetLife Stadium on 19 July.
What happened
Mikel Oyarzabal’s first-half penalty and Pedro Porro’s second-half strike gave Spain a 2-0 semi-final win over France in Dallas, sending the European champions into the World Cup final.
Spain play the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium on . Their opponent is decided tonight in Atlanta, where England meet Argentina. As European champions, Spain are one match from holding both titles at once, the European Championship and the World Cup.
The first goal came in the 22nd minute on Tuesday. Lucas Digne caught Lamine Yamal while clearing the ball inside the France box, and Mikel Oyarzabal drove the penalty into the top right corner. It was his fifth goal of the tournament.
Pedro Porro made it 2-0 after 58 minutes. He took a pass from Dani Olmo and scored past Mike Maignan.
Spain won by shutting down France’s attack. Kylian Mbappé, the tournament’s joint top scorer, found little space, because Spain kept crowding him whenever France tried to break forward. They also blocked the passes to Michael Olise, who has made the most assists, the passes that lead to goals.
Spain have let in one goal in seven matches at this World Cup, against Belgium in the quarter-final.
The win makes it 37 matches without defeat for Spain in all competitions, a joint record for a European team.
Sources: Sky Sports, ESPN
The Pattern
Two European champions have gone on to win the next World Cup: West Germany in 1974 and Spain in 2010. We looked at how every reigning European champion did at the following World Cup. Fourteen teams went before Spain, and six of them are shown below.
Show the other 4 cases
The Read
Spain’s case rests on defence. They have let in one goal in seven matches and have not lost in 37. In the semi-final, the tournament’s most dangerous attack did not score against them. Spain have now beaten the strongest team left, before either of their possible opponents has faced them.
History is less kind. Of the fourteen European champions before Spain, only two won the next World Cup. A final is a single match, and good form over seven games guarantees nothing. West Germany came to the 1982 final as European champions and lost. A price in the mid-40s makes Spain a strong favourite, but far from a sure thing.
Disclaimer
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