France v Spain World Cup Semifinal thread

[Fulham Tup North]

  France were just awful...
They looked shattered...
Was it one game too many for them... ???
Cannot wait for tomorrow 👍👍

[Woolly Mammoth]

It's all on the day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[Citizen Smith]

I loved the way they played at the Euros as they were more direct and played at a slightly higher pace, imo at least. Now they're just boring. Sure they press well, but with the ball it's tiring to watch. Endless passing and not many real chances created. They also feign injuries and time waste. They're probably the best team in the tournament at that.

France wasn't good today and Spain deserved to go through. I thought Olise and Mbappe who were probably their best players in the tournament struggled in particular.

I now hope England wins. Can't stand Argentina at this particular tournament and as I've already said, I don't like the way Spain play. So England it is!
[/quote]
Think this is very harsh on Spain. Rodri and Dani Olmo absolutely ran the show in midfield, their full backs(including the irritating but highly effective Cucurella) never stopped running and in Lamine Yamal they have one of the most exciting prospects in world football. If England had produced that performance against Les Bleus, the country would have been in raptures!

[Andrew]

I am stunned at how poor France were and conversely (is that the right word?) how good Spain were.

I didn't expect the game to play out as it did but there you go, as Greavsie said 'it's a funny old game.'

France seemed totally unable to cope with Spain's organisation and quality and they went completely to pieces, you would never know they have some of the world's best players.

[Bassey the warrior]

I expected a lot more from France but Spain put in a defensive masterclass, as they have done for the whole tournament. The full backs were aggressive, stifling the pacy French wingers, the whole back four played an excellent offside trap and keeper had great positioning to sweep up anything that got through. Rodri and Ruiz absolutely dominant, both with and without the ball.

The scary thing is Yamal hasn't actually hit his best form yet, he still looks a bit rusty after his injury. Capable of brilliance but not as consistently effective as usual.

Oyarzabal is a fascinating character, a one club man that has turned down moves to top clubs because he's happy where he is.