Spain Defeats France to Reach First Final in 16 Years

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In the semifinals of the North and Central America World Cup, Spain defeated France 2-0. Spain has advanced to the final for the first time in 16 years.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.

[Reporter]

In the highly anticipated clash between France and Spain, often called a "final before the final," Spain seized a decisive opportunity in the 20th minute of the first half.

Lamine Yamal rushed in after a loose touch by French defender Lucas Digne inside the penalty box, drawing a penalty kick when Digne caught him while attempting to clear the ball.

Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up as the kicker and accurately struck the bottom right corner of the goal to score the opener.

It was Oyarzabal's fifth goal of the tournament.

In the 30th minute, France faced a setback as central defender William Saliba was substituted due to an injury. Spain continued to ramp up the pressure, with Yamal breaking through the defense with a brilliant one-two pass to his teammate, leading to a shot by Fabian Ruiz.

France looked for opportunities through Kylian Mbappe's runs into space, but finished the first half without recording a single shot on target.

In the 13th minute of the second half, Pedro Porro, a former Tottenham teammate of Son Heung-min, scored an additional goal for Spain.

He dismantled the defensive line by exchanging passes with Dani Olmo before finding the net with a right-footed shot.

Yamal later found the back of the net again after penetrating the space behind the defense, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

France attempted to mount a comeback, but struggled to break through the Spanish defense, which boasts the lowest goals-conceded record per match in the tournament.

With Mbappe's free kick and Ousmane Dembele's shot both blocked in the final minutes of the second half, Spain's 2-0 victory was confirmed.

Spain, currently on a 37-match unbeaten streak in international play, 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.

[Mikel Oyarzabal / Spain National Football Team Forward: A childhood dream is becoming a reality. None of us could have imagined this, but now we can proudly say that we have reached the final.]

France, which was aiming for its third consecutive final appearance, has ended its journey.

(Video Editing: Ha Seong-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.