By T.J. Muscaro
& Aaron Gifford
Contributing Writers
Spain beat France, 2-0, in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, earning one of two spots in Sunday’s World Cup final against the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between England and Argentina.
That semifinal is scheduled to be played in Atlanta at noon Pacific time. The losers of the two semifinals meet Saturday in the third-place game, scheduled 2 p.m. Pacific Time in Miami. Sunday’s final is scheduled noon Pacific in New Jersey.
The following is a chronological summary of the semifinal match:
Spain Kicks Off Semifinal: A post-anthem coin toss gives Spain first possession of the game. But their control doesn’t last long as France is already pressing in on Unai Simón’s goal just over one minute into play with Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé getting noticeable touches. Possession continues to be contested across midfield and the score is 0-0 going into the fifth minute.
France Gets First Yellow Card, Spain Fails to Score on Free Kick: Spain is awarded its first free kick deep in the attacking zone less than 10 minutes into the game. French midfielder Adrien Rabiot is given a yellow card for an illegal hit on Spain’s Dani Olmo right at the top of the penalty box. The close proximity to the French net gives Spain the opportunity to turn a free kick into a shot on goal. The shot is taken by Álex Baena right into a wall of French defenders, and efforts by Lamine Yamal to recover are of no avail.
Mbappé Starts to Threaten Spain’s Back Line: Sixteen minutes in, Mbappé nearly has a breakaway, charging downfield and fighting three Spanish defenders on his own before ultimately being shut down, settling with his team’s first corner.
Spain Scores on Penalty Kick, Leads 1-0: Mikel Oyarzabal scores his fifth goal of the tournament, drawing first blood 22 minutes into the semifinal. After a hit on Lamine Yamal down in the penalty box area is ruled illegal by the referees, a penalty kick is triggered. Oyarzabal beats French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
The shot on goal was a rare instance thus far in the match. Spain only has two shots on net and France only has one. Both teams remain relatively even in terms of ball possession. But France continues to have self-sabotaging issues, earning three fouls, including one yellow card.
France’s Saliba Suffers Injury, Comes Off Pitch: French defender William Saliba is escorted off the pitch by medical staff. He is replaced by Maxence Lacroix, who has only played a combined 90 minutes throughout this tournament.
Yellow for Spain: The Roja’s first foul this match is a yellow card. It is given to Marc Cucurella for illegal contact with French player Michael Olise 31 minutes into play. Ousmane Dembélé takes a free kick toward the net but it is neutralized by Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón.
6 Minutes of Stoppage Time Added to First Half: The added time accounts for the time lost when play stops, such as when the ball goes out of bounds, fouls are called, free kicks are set up, or when play is stopped for injured players.
2nd Half Underway: France now has 45 minutes to erase a one-goal deficit against the reigning European champions, who have only allowed one goal in the entire tournament. Throughout the half, Spain will have an opportunity to change five of its players to get fresh legs out on the pitch. France, meanwhile, will only be able to swap four players after Saliba’s injury forced Le Bleus to use one of the substitutions.
France’s head coach, Didier Deschamps, started the half using one of those substittions, pulling midfielder Adrien Rabiot and unleashing Manu Koné. Rabiot played most of the first half under a yellow card, and a second one would turn into an automatic red card — ejecting him from the match and France having to play the rest of the match down one man.
France Subs Doue for Barcola: After 57 minutes on the pitch, French forward Bradley Barcola sits down and is replaced with Désiré Doué.
Pedro Porro Gives Spain 2-0 Lead: Pedro Porro catches a pass from a falling Dani Olmo, finding himself all alone in a pocket right in front of the net, and beats French goalkeeper Mike Maignan at 58 minutes.
Yamal Deemed Offside, No Goal: Lamine Yamal nearly adds another goal to Spain’s lead just three minutes later. He beats French defender Lucas Digne one-on-one and launches the ball into the top left corner. But the referee deems the young star offside at the start of his charge.
Subs: France Swaps Olise for Cherki, Digne for Hernandez: France comes out of the hydration break with two more sets of fresh legs. Dechamps pulls Michael Olise in exchange for Rayan Cherki, and pulls Lucas Digne for Théo Hernandez. Mbappe and Dembélé are still on the pitch. France has used all of its allowed substitutions.
Subs: Spain Swaps Oyarzabal for Torres: Spain makes its first substitution of the match at the 74th minute, ending Mikel Oyarzabal’s game and replacing the match’s first goal scorer with Ferran Torres.
Yamal Fouls Mbappé: Lamine Yamal collides with an attacking Mbappé at 76 minutes, sending the striker rolling on the ground in pain and triggering a foul. France gets the free kick, but expresses its dissatisfaction, arguing in vain with the referee that Yamal should have received a yellow card for the illegal contact.
Subs: Spain Swaps Olmo for Merino, Ruiz for Pedri: After Yamal’s foul, Spain makes two more substitutions. Dani Olmo ends his match, stepping aside for Mikel Merino. Meanwhile, Fabián Ruiz comes off the pitch to be replaced by Pedri.
Simón Shuts France Down Again: Unai Simón’s aggressive play against Le Bleus manifests in two heart-stopping moves for Rojas fans. First, he runs 40 yards out of his net to try and grab the ball from charging Frenchmen, but fails to secure the ball. However, he is able to recover and deny Désiré Doué the back of the net. Then, shortly after that, Simón makes a diving save, collides with Théo Hernandez, and gets the ball in his face.
Mbappé Handed Yellow Card: Referees hand Mbappé a yellow card for making late, avoidable contact with Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón 86 minutes in.
Mbappé Misses Free Kick: France’s top goal scorer misses a free kick deep in the attacking zone, sending the ball high and wide of the net 89 minutes into play.
7 Minutes of Stoppage Time Added: France has seven minutes to get past Spanish goalie Unai Simón twice to stay alive and force extra time.
Spain Beats France 2-0: Spain heads to the World Cup final for only the second time in its history.
