Mbappé silenced in all-time World Cup heist

Kylian Mbappé’s swaggering France were brought to their knees by a Spain side that produced one of the great World Cup ambushes in Dallas.

Respected football minds had described Les Bleus as unstoppable before Wednesday’s (AEST) semi-final, with Mbappé leading a ridiculously talented strike force that also boasts Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé.

But Lucas Digne’s first half brain fade set in motion a disastrous sequence of events for Didier Deschamps’ side.

The France fullback gave away a completely unnecessary penalty on Lamine Yamal, who will now try to match Mbappé’s feat of winning a World Cup as a teenager.

Mikel Oyarzabal - unfashionable and comparatively unknown compared to his French rivals - buried the spot kick in the 22nd minute and left the title favourites chasing the game.

Seven minutes later, defensive rock William Saliba left the field injured and in tears.

France were shaken of their usual verve as Spain passed with purpose and precision.

Deschamps’ half time rev-up turned out to be his last at the helm of the footballing powerhouse, as he prepares to hand the mantle to his 1998 midfield mate Zinedine Zidane.

A Tottenham Hotspur defender would then be the unlikely figure to twist the knife.

Pedro Porro finished a simple but superb movement for just his second international goal.

His first? Also in a World Cup knockout match 12 days ago against Austria.

France’s icon Mbappé was strangely subdued throughout.

Still only 27, he is likely to finish his career as the leading goalscorer in tournament history.

But his opportunity to join the Lionel Messi, Pele and Diego Maradona stratosphere is for the moment dashed.

Spain, 2-0 winners, will meet either England or Argentina in Monday’s (AEST) final.

Remarkably, this was only Spain’s second appearance in a World Cup semi-final.

Their first led to the ultimate prize in 2010, and they will start favourites in New Jersey regardless of opponent.

Who would have thought after a 0-0 stalemate against Cabo Verde?

“Spain outclassed France,” Les Bleus great Olivier Giroud said on CBS.

“France did not show up. I’m really disappointed, but at the end of the day, anything can happen in football.

“These two were my big favourites to win the title. I think Spain played a great game. They were technically fantastic, controlled the midfield. It is a credit to them.

“It is a tough moment for French people because we had so much expectations, maybe too much. But that’s the beauty of the game.”

Luis de la Fuente had made the bold call to bench star midfielder Pedri in the quarter-final win over Belgium and Spain’s bespectacled manager stuck with the more physical Fabián Ruiz to slow down France.

The champions of Europe are now on the verge of a historic double.

“We started almost four years ago with an idea, and we’ve been faithful to that idea, and it’s brought us here,” the 65-year-old former national left back said.

“Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world but in front of them they had the best team in the world. That is different.

“These players deserve everything. Day after day they’ve shown their commitment, their solidarity, their generosity, their talent… they make the difficult look easy.”

Deschamps lifted the World Cup as France’s captain in 1998 and then as manager 20 years later.

He signs off with a staggering record of 120 wins, 28 draws and 35 losses in 183 games as national coach.

With 17, Deschamps also holds the all-time record for the most World Cup wins by a manager.

“The players are devastated, but we have to be ​clear-headed - technically we were second best,” he admitted.

“That is on us. We lacked ‌technical precision and energy. The Spanish are very ‌good at breaking up moves by reading interceptions and passes.

“We would have liked to cause them more problems going forward. I don’t want to take anything away from Spain, a really good team which knows how to master its plan, but we lacked offensive aggression…

“They forced us to defend. We did not manage to make this game difficult for them.”

Deschamps also took a shot at referee Iván Barton of El Salvador.

“I’ll ask a loaded question and I won’t answer it,” Deschamps said.

“Is the referee at the level required to officiate a World Cup semi-final? And I’m not saying this just because we lost today. There were quite a few situations. There were some favourable calls, too.”

But Thierry Henry - Deschamps’ 1998 teammate - said France only had themselves to blame.

“France was a disappointment today. Spain was far superior in every area of ​​the pitch and deserved the win,” Henry said on Fox.

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