Deschamps kritisiert Schiedsrichter, Spanien feiert, Hummels beeindruckt | Spanien - Frankreich 2:0

Deschamps criticizes referee, Spain celebrates, Hummels impresses | Spain - France 2-0 Spain has secured its place as the first finalist of the 2026 World Cup! La Roja cruised to a well-deserved and comfortable victory against France, who failed to live up to their own expectations. With a commanding 2-0 win over Morocco, France not only secured their sixth victory in six matches, but, more importantly, a place in the semi-finals. Didier Deschamps was able to count on captain and top scorer Mbappé once again, who had recently been substituted due to injury. In addition, the recovered Tchouameni returned to the starting lineup alongside Barcola. Koné and Doué were relegated to the bench. Luis de la Fuente, however, didn't have to count on the return of any key players, as the Spanish coach still had all his players available. Compared to the quarter-final, he opted against making any changes, leaving both Pedri and Merino on the bench, the latter having once again proven his worth as a substitute in the 2-1 victory against Belgium. Referee Ivan Barton set the tone early, showing Rabiot a yellow card for the first foul of the match (8th minute). Nevertheless, it was by no means an unfair game; rather, Spain, as expected, focused on controlling possession, while France looked to counter-attack. Both teams avoided taking unnecessary risks in the opening stages. The French also conceded little overall, but then made a crucial error in the 20th minute. In an attempt to clear the ball, Digne clearly caught the onrushing Lamine Yamal on the leg, prompting the referee to immediately point to the penalty spot. Oyarzabal confidently converted the resulting penalty (22nd minute). With Saliba's injury-related substitution, replaced by Lacroix (30th minute), Deschamps' team suffered another setback shortly afterward. Les Bleus' sloppy performance continued, with them managing only two harmless shots on goal in the entire first half. Speaking of sloppy play, this was also the case in the 38th minute when a short clearance from Maignan almost resulted in a 2-0 lead for Spain. While the 2010 World Cup winners also rarely created any truly noteworthy attacking opportunities, their relentless pressing put the French under constant pressure. Spain's 1-0 lead at halftime was a deserved consequence. Furthermore, to avoid risking a red card for Rabiot, Deschamps substituted him for Koné at the start of the second half. This, however, had no immediate impact on the course of the game, as France continued to struggle in vain to gain control. But that wasn't all: In the 58th minute, the situation became even more difficult for the two-time world champions, as Spain increased their lead to 2-0. The move originated with Pedro Porro, who initiated the attack with a one-two with Dani Olmo. The advancing right-back then found himself one-on-one with Maignan and calmly slotted the ball into the net. In his third encounter with France, Lamine Yamal almost celebrated his fourth goal shortly afterward, but the linesman correctly signaled an offside (61'). Les Bleus continued to offer little threat; only a deflected right-footed shot from Mbappé truly rattled the Spaniards. The ball, however, flashed just past the outside of the post (67'). Despite several opportunities in the closing stages, the French team was unable to provide their nation with a fitting end to Bastille Day. Unai Simon's foray forward also proved fruitless, as substitute Doué's long-range effort was ultimately saved by the Spanish goalkeeper (81'). The French ultimately missed their chance to become only the third team ever to reach three consecutive World Cup finals – a feat previously achieved only by Germany (1982 to 1990) and Brazil (1994 to 2002). Spain, meanwhile, defeated Les Bleus for the third time in a row (Euro 2024 semi-final and Nations League semi-final 2025) and celebrated a well-deserved and virtually unchallenged semi-final victory in Dallas. ► Subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any more videos! ``` Follow us on our other social media channels: ► Instagram:   / kicker   ► Facebook:   / kickeronline   ► Twitter:   / kicker_bl_li   ► TikTok: https://tiktok.com/kicker Our offers: ► kicker App for iOS and Android: https://hyperurl.co/kickerapp ► Website: https://www.kicker.de ► kicker eSport: https://esport.kicker.de