Spain break down France's wall in five minutes to advance to EURO final

Spain went through. A historic L'Equipe sent France home and left Mbappé free time to prepare for his presentation with Real Madrid on 16 July at the Bernabeu. 

The French country has experienced a strange European Championship, as strange as the World Cup in Qatar. Always on the lookout for extra-sporting matters such as Benzema's injury, the accusations of racism by the former Real Madrid striker against his teammates or, in Germany, more concerned with contradicting their compatriots and tipping the elections to the left than playing well and exploiting the best player in the world who, by the way, is leaving the European Championship with only one goal scored.

And here came Spain to go over that French wall, who in the eighth minute had already scored the first goal thanks to Mbappé's cross and Muani's finish inside the box on the only ball that beat Laporte and against which Unai Simón could do nothing. Spain froze. It was difficult to know how Luis de la Fuente's Spain would recover from that goal against a rocky team that was not easy to score against.

But De la Fuente has to be credited for many things. The applause for Rubiales and his jumping ship a day later will always be there, but also that he knows every player he has taken to the Euros down to the last millimetre. That nobody gave a euro for Laporte after his departure to Arabia and that only a handful of data, performance sheets and sensations could take him to the tournament, rest him against Croatia and in the rest of the games he would lead the backline like a veteran of European football. Just like Unai Simón, unsure with his feet, but a calm man under the sticks who is lucky enough that some French arrivals were not converted into goals.

We know little about Morata. De la Fuente already protects him out of pride and for all that he brings on the pitch that are not goals. Always tormented and more concerned about his future than the present of Spain, the 9 of La Roja was run over by a member of security after the game that hurt his knee. It was all the result of an inopportune misstep trying to stop an individual who jumped onto the pitch for his minute of glory. Like so many others that UEFA will have to look at for the next tournament and, especially, for the final.

Yamal's goal came in the 21st and Olmo's in the 25th. That's how long it took Spanish football to turn around an impossible game. Lamine Yamal's was a goal from another planet. With six Frenchmen behind the ball and Maignan in place, the Barça player struck left-footed in such a way that the curling shot went past the goalkeeper's glove, hit the post and into the net for 1-1. The blow was a heavy one for France. You could see it in the faces and in an unhinged Deschamps who, as the game wore on, was running out of ideas and could only complain about inconsequential fouls. 

But 2-1 was definitive for France's will. A play on the edge of the area, a ball into the box and a Dani Olmo who made a dream dribble on Tchoauméni to finish with a right-footed shot that Koundé sent into his own net. To assume the game was over in the 25th minute might be bold, but Spain wanted it to be. The perfect midfield machine has two engines: Rodri and Fabián have all their pieces in place and they ate the muscle of Rabiot, Kanté or Tchouaméni and this is what Mbappé and Deschamps assumed after the match in a gesture that honours them.

Navas was Navas. That full-back who, at 37, can play 60 minutes of a European Championship semi-final, get injured and leave his place to Nacho so that Vivian, with just three caps to his name, could play in the centre of defence. The Sevillian is one of those veterans that De la Fuente likes, like Carvajal, who was in the stands with Pedri and Le Normand, or Nacho. Guys with useful experience for the youngsters, but without upsetting the dressing room too much. Ramos's departure and the end of his time in Spain, where his hand was extended to the point of bending Luis Enrique's will to play three minutes in a match and continue to add to the number of games for Spain with no more merit than to feed his own ego, can be understood in this way.

France had a few chances, but they did not unnerve the Spanish players, who took their time with every ball. They stepped on the ball until French exhaustion and played the ball to Unai Simón as many times as necessary. Until the final whistle, Spain were the same Spain that beat Croatia. A group of players and an idea of football that changes little whatever the scenario. The last stop is Berlin. The great final of the European Championship in a historic stadium where this Spain of ours will unite, if only for a while, the will of all Spaniards.