Spain beat a lackluster French team in Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal. The final will be decided Wednesday, as England faces current world champion Argentina.
Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The team to beat at the World Cup has been beaten. France was the favorite entering the tournament, but Spain blanked them 2-0 on Tuesday, which puts them in the finals this weekend. Steve Futterman was at yesterday’s match in Arlington, Texas. Steve, France had outscored its opponent 16-2, and then they get shut out. I know Spain is really good. That has to be considered an upset, though.
STEVE FUTTERMAN: Well, it is an upset in the sense that France had been playing the best of any nation up until yesterday, and it had definitely been the choice of most experts to win the World Cup. But if France had been viewed pretty much as the best team, Spain was pretty much viewed as the second-best team. So while this may be an upset, it’s not an overwhelming shock. In fact, many had even said this match could have been the final. We all knew going into the match that Spain had a remarkable defense, so remarkable that in its first six World Cup matches, Spain had given up just one goal. And guess how Spain beat France yesterday? Yes, defense.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. They choked them out. So how exactly did Spain shut down France’s offense?
FUTTERMAN: Well, France has these three amazing attackers who have just sparkled in this tournament. Of course, Kylian Mbappe, but there’s also Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise. But Spain found a way to shut them all down. For instance, Mbappe didn’t have a single shot on target the entire match. One way Spain did this was by essentially controlling the center of the pitch. And there was a clear focus on Mbappe, with one defender playing him tight and the second playing behind him to cut off his running lanes. Now, afterwards, we spoke to some very happy Spanish fans, including Pedro Jimenez (ph). He is originally from Madrid.
PEDRO JIMENEZ: Spain had to play the perfect game today in order to beat France, and we did. The tournament hasn’t been good for Spain. They didn’t have that many good games. But today they played the perfect game, and that is what we needed to beat France.
FUTTERMAN: And by the way – I’m sure you’ll be shocked – Jimenez is picking Spain in Sunday’s final.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter) Of course. Why not?
FUTTERMAN: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, you think some of us were maybe overly dazzled by France’s squad?
FUTTERMAN: It’s a valid question, and that may indeed be the case. Here’s one fact that supports that. Spain has now beaten France three straight times in high-profile competitions like the European Championship. Now, France is still a great squad. There’s still Mbappe – he’s only 27. They will be back in four years. But I’m sure there are many who today will say, boy, did we miss a golden chance.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And I think what – yesterday was Bastille Day too – right? – in France. So…
FUTTERMAN: Yes (laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: …A double…
FUTTERMAN: They had not good parties.
MARTÍNEZ: …Bad day. Yeah. All right, so Spain plays whoever wins the Argentina-England match. That’s at 3 p.m. Eastern today. Give us a little preview.
FUTTERMAN: Well, Argentina is the defending champion – trying to become, by the way, just the third nation to win back-to-back World Cups. Now, they haven’t looked nearly as sharp as their stellar run four years ago in 2022 – not even close. In each of their three knockout-round matches, they’ve been taken to the brink, especially by Egypt. But Argentina still has Lionel Messi. Messi, at age 39, still has moments where he looks like a much younger player. Now, England coach Thomas Tuchel is aware that with Messi, Argentina can be dangerous.
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THOMAS TUCHEL: They’re always looking for the gaps. They’re playing through gaps. And once Leo Messi has the ball, the movement starts, and just the technical execution of the delivery and of the supply of Messi is just on a absolutely highest level.
FUTTERMAN: Now, England, of course, has a couple stars of their own – Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane. And by the way, England still has this issue of not winning the World Cup in 60 years – their last win in 1966.
MARTÍNEZ: That’s reporter Steve Futterman in Arlington, Texas. Steve, thank you.
FUTTERMAN: Thank you, A.
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