Yamal and Spain silence the favourites to reach a first World Cup final since 2010

Spain reached their first World Cup final since 2010, comfortably beating tournament favourites France 2-0 in Dallas. Teenager Lamine Yamal won a first-half penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal converted, and Pedro Porro doubled the lead after the break with a slick finish. Kylian Mbappé was kept quiet as France, for all their possession and shots, were outclassed. Spain await the winner of England and Argentina.

Spain are back in a World Cup final. La Roja, champions of the world in 2010 and nobody's idea of quiet any longer, dismantled tournament favourites France 2-0 in Dallas to reach the final and stand ninety minutes from a second star. It was a performance of control, class and cold-blooded quality.

The game turned on the brightest young talent of the whole tournament. On twenty-two minutes Lamine Yamal was fouled by Lucas Digne as he darted into the box, and Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up to convert the penalty with the composure that has marked Spain's whole run.

Yamal was the game's tormentor-in-chief. The eighteen-year-old dictated from the right flank all evening, gliding past French defenders and pulling the strings, and on the grandest stage of all he announced himself as a star of the present, not just the future. Spain's best football flowed through him.

The second goal was pure La Roja. A slick give-and-go with Dani Olmo sent Pedro Porro galloping clear on fifty-eight minutes, and the full-back finished low and hard. At 2-0 with half an hour to play, France's evening was effectively done.

And for the favourites, it is a chastening night. Didier Deschamps's side actually had more shots, fourteen to ten, but Kylian Mbappé was kept quiet and they never carried the cutting edge that Spain possessed in abundance. The 2022 runners-up drop to Saturday's third-place play-off, their dream of a third star extinguished.

Spain, by contrast, look the complete article. Luis de la Fuente's team are unbeaten and have conceded just once all tournament, and they have blended their trademark passing with a ruthless edge that earlier vintages sometimes lacked. A first final since that night in Johannesburg in 2010, and genuine belief that a second world title is now within reach.

They will meet the winner of England and Argentina on Sunday. And a Golden Boot subplot simmers: with Mbappé blanked, he and Lionel Messi stay level on eight, but Messi, still alive, could yet pull clear. For Kenya and the neutrals, this was a masterclass to savour. Hispania wamerudi fainali baada ya miaka kumi na sita, na kijana Yamal ndiye nyota: Spain are back in a final after sixteen years, and the youngster Yamal is the star. Follow the finale on our bracket.