World Cup Daily: Defence wins out in Spanish-French clash of identities

Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué. Unless you were alive back in 1954, or consider yourself something of a football historian, no nation had ever put together as loaded an attack as France had at this World Cup.

Their pedigree was unquestionable, fronted by the most efficient World Cup scorer in recent memory, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner and the best playmaker in world football. None of that mattered against Spain, the stingiest defence at this tourney bar none.

It's a tale as old as sport: the best defence against the best offence. And as is typical in this particular clash of identities, defences do tend to win the titles.

Spain's an interesting case, however, as the side doesn't sport the likes of any world-beating players on the backline.

Young Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi is certainly a talent, but no one would rank him within the top three in the world at his position. Marc Cucurella on the left earned himself a move to Real Madrid this summer and is one of the best at his position, but his talents alone don't swing games the way a Nuno Mendes for Portugal can.

What's different about this Spanish team is its togetherness. Sure, Lamine Yamal is the star of the show — perhaps the only recognizable name for casual footy fans — and Pedri is widely considered one of the best midfielders. But neither player can claim this victory as their own. Rather, this victory belongs to Spain. It belongs to a team that has proven, more so than any other at this tournament, that there are no individual parts, that the best football is played by a cohesive unit, and that no singular force is bigger than the team, the nation or the badge.

No single player is advancing to the World Cup final — a team, in the truest sense of the word, is. England or Argentina are set to square off against a fortress.

Here's what went down in the first semifinal of the World Cup.

THE RESULTS

Semifinals: Spain 2, France 0 | Match Report | Match Stats

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

One goal conceded in seven games, facing off against the likes of Portugal, Belgium and France in the knockout stages. One.

Generally, some of that boils down to luck, but Spain also possesses the lowest expected goals against at the tournament with 2.1 over its seven games. That's better than Uruguay's 2.4 and South Korea's 2.5, both of whom were promptly grouped weeks ago.

Against France, the Spaniards conceded only a 0.30 expected goals against, routinely shutting down the combination attacks of Olise, Mbappé and Dembélé before they could even get going. Not only was it France's worst showing of the tournament, but its worst in the history of the tournament dating back to 1966, as far back as Opta can track.

The 19-year-old Cubarsi was clinical, finishing with four clearances, one block, one last-man tackle and seven total defensive contributions. Aymeric Laporte had the most touches in the game with 86, controlling the ball on the back end and adding four clearances on the day. Pedro Porro on the right netted Spain's second goal while adding three clearances and two tackles. Then Cucurella on the left finished with seven defensive contributions, and his last-ditch tackle on Mbappé ahead of stoppage time will go down as the one etched in the minds of Spaniards.

That's not even to mention the impact of Unai Simón, whose sweeper-keeper stylings shut down French breaks before they could get started. In the 42nd minute, Mbappe looked to be through on a pass from Rabiot, but Simón rushed out 30 yards from goal and slid in for a tackle to stop the break. Then in the 81st, the keeper rushed out of goal and headed a ball away from Mbappé, and though France had a chance to capitalize on the open goal, Spain's togetherness prevailed again to stymy any chance at a marker.

All Spain needed to win was an early penalty drawn by Yamal, exerting his pressure in the final third and forcing a foul from Lucas Digne, and a throwback to the tiki-taka days of 2010 Spanish triumph, as Porro finished off a pretty passing sequence for the killing blow.

For the entirety of the tournament, Spain has done just enough to win. A 1-0 win over Portugal in stoppage time, a 2-1 win over Belgium courtesy of a late goal. It hasn't always been pretty, but it's worked to perfection. On Tuesday, it was surgical; it was total football.

STAT OF THE DAY

Many may have expected more from Yamal this tournament, crowned as the next great football prodigy. Beyond his lone marker against Saudi Arabia, the 19-year-old has been held without a goal contribution through seven games, but what's undeniable is his winning pedigree. Just looking at the box score, you won't notice the gravity Yamal has, the amount of pressure he exerts from the right wing, and the willingness to do the dirty work, tracking back on defence. Don't second-guess it, Yamal remains the star of the show, regardless of his stats.

FAN OF THE DAY

The Spanish sweetheart, Lamine Yamal's little brother Keyne has taken the world by storm at the World Cup. The youngster was seen crying earlier in the game, but nothing lifts the spirits like a win.

SHOT OF THE DAY

Someone always has to lose. For 21-year-old Desiré Doué, it's his first taste of defeat at the World Cup. However, it's a good reminder that this French generation, despite having been to the last two World Cup finals, is just getting started. Those teams from 2018 and 2022, particularly on the attacking front, are nowhere near as gifted as this one. Nothing would taste sweeter than revenge in 2030 on Spanish soil.

THREE STARS OF THE DAY

1. Pedro Porro (Spain): The Spurs man characterized Total Football to a tee, moving in and out of position, overlapping with Yamal when needed, and cutting inside when the opportunities presented themselves. Beyond his goal, Porro finished with six defensive contributions and was only dribbled past once.

2. Unai Simón (Spain): The Bilbao keeper registered his sixth clean sheet of the tournament, breaking the record jointly held by Fabien Barthez, Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon, Walter Zenga and Pascal Zuberbühler. Good company.

3. Marc Cucurella (Spain): After a last-ditch tackle on Mbappé to extinguish any hope for France, the 27-year-old has the chance to rub it in the face of his future teammate when the two unite at Real Madrid. The former Chelsea man finished with an 87 per cent pass accuracy and played the pest role perfectly, hinting at shades of Sergio Ramos or Andoni Goikoetxea, but with a cooler head.

Click here to read article