[Anchor]
In the semifinals of the North and Central America World Cup, the "Invincible Armada" Spain decisively defeated France 2-0. Spain has reached the final for the first time in 16 years.
Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.
[Reporter]
In the "early final" match between France and Spain, Spain seized a decisive opportunity in the 20th minute of the first half.
Taking advantage of an inaccurate touch by French defender Digne inside the penalty box, Yamal rushed in, drawing a penalty kick after the ball struck Digne's foot as he attempted to clear it.
Oyarzabal, stepping up as the kicker, precisely struck the bottom right corner of the goal to score the opener.
Oyarzabal recorded his 5th goal of the tournament.
In the 30th minute of the first half, France faced a setback as central defender Saliba was substituted due to an injury. Spain increased the pressure as Yamal bypassed the defense with a superb one-two pass to a teammate, leading to a shot by Ruiz.
France looked for opportunities through Mbappe's penetration into space, but finished the first half without recording a single shot on target.
Spain extended their lead in the 13th minute of the second half with an additional goal from Porro, a former Tottenham teammate of Son Heung-min.
He broke through the defensive line by exchanging passes with Olmo and successfully scored with a right-footed shot.
Later, Yamal penetrated the space behind the defense and found the back of the net again, but it was ruled offside.
France attempted to mount a comeback, but could not easily break through the defense of Spain, which holds the record for fewest goals conceded per match.
With Mbappe's free kick and Dembele's shot both blocked in the final moments of the second half, Spain's 2-0 victory was confirmed.
Spain, currently on a 37-match unbeaten streak in A-matches, has reached the final for the first time in 16 years since their championship run in 2010. They will face the winner of the England-Argentina match next Monday to compete for the trophy.
[Oyarzabal / Spain National Football Team Forward: My childhood dream is becoming a reality. It is something none of us could have imagined, but now we can proudly say that we have reached the final.]
France, aiming for their third consecutive final appearance, saw their bid for a title after 8 years dashed and will now head to the third-place match.
(Video Editing: Ha Seong-won)
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