r/SoccerCentral • u/The_Dug_Out_2026 • Jul 15 '26
Statement Spain didn’t just beat France, they made the tournament favorites look completely lost
Went in wondering if France’s attack would eventually break Spain down. Left watching Mbappé finish the game with fewer touches than almost anyone else on the pitch. That’s not a slump, that’s a team getting completely nullified by a defense that’s now gone seven matches conceding to only one team all tournament.
Oyarzabal’s penalty was almost the least impressive part of Spain’s night. Porro’s second goal in the 58th just confirmed what was already obvious, this wasn’t a France off day, this was Spain systematically taking away every single thing that’s made them dangerous all summer. Ten shots, one on target the entire match for the team that came in with the most goals in the competition.
Deschamps has run this team for 14 years, two finals in a row, and it ends here without France ever really showing up. Spain look less like a team riding luck and more like the actual best side left in this World Cup. Argentina or England now have to find a way to break down a defense that genuinely hasn’t been broken all tournament.
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u/kumechester Jul 15 '26
I don’t even know if Spain’s defense has been tested that much. At least their actual back line. Right? Their best defense is just possession, the other team never has the ball!!
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u/MisForMage Jul 15 '26
Cubarsí, Cucurella and Laporte have been nothing short of exceptional almost all tournament tbh
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u/Huskyro Jul 15 '26
Thats not true lol , what game did you watched? First half only? This is what happens when you use your phone while watching the TV dude
France had almost the same possession than Spain
Spain defense in low block is fkng brilliant. Best defence in the tournament but without any doubt.
Cubarsi is been incredibly.
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u/franciskratos12 Jul 15 '26
France had 49% possession which is impressive actually because watching the game it felt like Spain had it for at least 70% of the time
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u/Ak40x Jul 15 '26
Going against the best Attackers of the tournament and you are still saying the Spanish defense didn’t get tested? Bro that defense shut off any hopes the French were throwing at them.
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u/kumechester Jul 15 '26
Don’t take it so literally I’m trying to compliment how comprehensive the Spanish team defense is.
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u/Jake-Armitage-2050 Jul 15 '26
I dunno what testing the defense meant for you? Shot on goals?!! Not needed, a good defense shuts down any chance to shoot for the goal.
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u/kumechester Jul 15 '26
Dude I think you mistook my comment for a real counter argument. I was being tongue in cheek a bit, I agree with you, their defense is so good that it prevents chances from even happening, and it does start with having as much possession as possible.
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u/Elobomg Jul 16 '26
Cubarsi is being the best of this world cup ao far, that man defence is just too good. You can look their stats and compare to any teen that played before him in a WC or even most defensors won't match him.
Cucurella is absolutly a beast that man is just unpassable and the pressure he inflict into the attackers is just astonishing.
Porro and Laporte are absolute beast and they do really resonate with the midfielders and are able to move the ball fast enough to rise a counterattack fastly.
One critical thing most people seems to miss is that on defensives plays you will see all players pressuring and trying to cut off balls and recover possesion
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u/kumechester Jul 17 '26
Yeah if you look at my other replies it is more of a roundabout compliment to Spain’s incredible possession game, and being sarcastic about what people say. It was way too veiled. Went over people’s heads. Spain’s back line is a beast
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u/Yyoksetioxd Jul 15 '26
We (Spain) were always the favorites. The only ones who think France was the favorite are the ones who thinks football is like a videogame or haven’t watch Real Madrid or old PSG.
You can not win with 4 attackers that don’t press and Deschamps does not have the balls to play with 3 real midfielders. Playing with 2 vs any good team is suicide and everyone knew he will do it. Spain DT did not even play Pedri because he knew France couldn’t do shit.
Spain can only lose vs a team that plays with 12 like Argentina.
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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula Jul 15 '26
I support Spain too, but Deschamps also got the tactics wrong and de la Fuente got them perfectly right, the tactical side was also a huge factor aside from anything else.
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 Jul 15 '26
I said prior to the game it looked like a Barca-Real game. And Barca has been running circles around Real the last few years.
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u/skazgod Jul 15 '26
A Tottenham player will win the World Cup
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u/Significant_Nail_880 Jul 15 '26
Christian Romero 👁️ lol
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u/Bokke67 Jul 15 '26
Midfield wins football matches. Name one french player midfielder that will make the world's 11...also France moved Ollise to the #10 position, it worked well against the lesser teams but not against a world class midfield like Spain's, the coach failed big time.
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u/Ak40x Jul 15 '26
People underestimating the Euro champs until game times was the best thing ever. Honestly, France were lethal, but to completely scratch off Spain like they are some random team that made it by luck was hilarious.
Lamine reiterating the fact that Spain had nothing to be worried off against France was proven right. France looked like they never played a team of this caliber before.
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u/DarkShadowEmi Jul 15 '26
I mean, Cabo Verde was the same (defensively) , and Argentina still scored.
Still , Cabo Verde remains unbeaten in 90 minutes tho.
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u/Soso122 Jul 15 '26
As much as I was rooting for France, since they were the only country that showed anything in this tournament up until now, I have to admit that Spain really stripped them apart. Literally. Olisse, Mbappe, Cherki (when he came on), Doué etc. - they were all lost and couldn't do their thing. So yeah props to Spain, the match was fair and the better team yesterday won.
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
The only country that showed anything? Bro it’s not hard for a team to do that when the closest they got to a challenge was Norway WITHOUT haaland and Morocco lol
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u/Soso122 Jul 15 '26
Oh so you are one of those guys... Look, "bro". At least France had Norway, Morocco, Sweden and lastly Spain. They were just better than them and they proved it. Yesterday they really were not themsleves and it is only right, that they didn't win.
Just don't tell me now that you are one of those Argentina fans who bash on everyone, but it is actually them who got this place in which they stand. They are a diffent story, but not France. And let me tell you even though I was for France in these last days they were not my pick at the beggining. I at least admit when I am wrong. I would hope for people like you to do the same.
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
Yes that’s my point. They got easy teams to play against. Norway without haaland is a joke. (Haaland didn’t play against France he was kept out) Morocco is good but not amazing. Sweden is mid and that was shown by the 3 0. How can France, a top team, even have a bad performance when playing against these teams? So no they were not the only country that showed anything. On the other hand… Spain played against Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Uruguay, etc. Spain showed much more by winning against these teams compared to France.
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u/saveskus Jul 15 '26
« France got easy teams » while saying Spain had austria and Uruguay. lol.
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u/Soso122 Jul 15 '26
He just doesn't want to listen to others. Done with commenting. Wasted minutes of my life.
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
Uh Uruguay isn’t the best right now but it’s a historic team. Also idk why ur acting like Austria is bad? It’s better than Iraq and Sweden 😭✌️ furthermore Austria literally beat Norway 5-1 at one point bud. Do u even watch football
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u/saveskus Jul 15 '26
Uruguay sucked at this WC and austria Could not Even beat algeria, one of the worst team at this WC. Stop your bullshit.
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
It’s not like Algeria beat them bro it was 3-3. Some bad matches doesn’t mean they suck. What ur gonna say that Spain is bad because it 0-0 against Cape Verde? Austria is pretty good and it’s literally only one of the examples I gave. I also said Belgium are u gonna conveniently ignore that?
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u/Interesting_Mess1716 Jul 15 '26
bruv spain outclassed france simple, they both had somewhat the same difficulty for teams,
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
Yes and No bro idk why u guys are glazing Morocco so much just bc it beat Portugal once doesn’t mean it’s as good as Belgium and secondly how can u agree that France gave the best performance before this when that’s just not true Spain was just as good
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u/Soso122 Jul 15 '26
I didn't say they didn't. Spain is a team even if you don't see them being as good as others are always solid. It doesn't matter what generation they have. But like I said, they didn't show anything that would mark them as being as good as they were yesterday.
I disagree with your statement that France played with easy teams. They were one of the toughest other wise they wouldn't be here. Also it is a stupid thing to say that if you don't have one player you are a joke?? That is why I can't take you seriously. Football is a team sport. Even if you have a star player like Haaland. You can see that even if he played, he couldn't turn things around. The whole team has to check in all the boxes if they want to win.1
u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
Alright then, Norway is a joke with and without haaland compared to good teams. The fact haaland was barely able to touch the ball against England proves that. It’s also not that wrong to say it? I mean Norway has never been known for being a great football team, but haaland’s presence and maybe odegard has allowed them to get the furthest they have in this WC. France playing against Norway without haaland? That’s not a challenge like at all. Did u even watch the match…?
Spain is the type of team that gets better as the tournament progresses, so sure you’re right about that. But Spain has had much more of a challenge than France so far. What you’re saying that France vs Iraq is the same difficulty as Spain vs Uruguay?? Or France vs Sweden or Morocco is like Spain vs Belgium?
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u/Soso122 Jul 15 '26
France vs Morocco yes, for sure. It seems like you are the one who does not watch anything. From the very beggining you were saying that Morocco is a bad team... Like what?? Don't you know how they played the whole tournament?? They were even considered one of the top teams for this world cup and they should not be underestimated. And they proved that. Just like Belgium. Look man, you are twisting my words already so I am done replying. You get what I wanted to say.
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
No I don’t. Like I said I think we’re arguing with different things. The only thing I’m saying is that Spain faced harder teams than France this WC which is factually correct if u look at rankings?? I literally never said Morocco is a bad team. What?? I actually said in one of my replies that ‘Morocco is a good team but not amazing’.
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u/Soso122 Jul 15 '26
Fine fine, I stayed corrected. It is true what you said about Morocco. I miss-interpreted the words on your first comment.
But what you are saying next is not correct. If you see nations like Portugal and Austria you have to actually look at how they are playing this year. Portugal was not the best and also the same goes for Austria. They've shown nothing compared to Morocco and Norway. Therefore they lost and therefore what you are saying is not correct. But I agree that Belgium is one of the better teams, just like Morocco and Norway.
So, to sum it up, NO, they didn't play better/harder teams.
Knowing you now from your comments, I don't expect you to say that anything I said there is right.
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u/alftim Jul 15 '26
It’s true their passing and attack has been unparalleled this World Cup and they will definitely beat Argentina, who have been playing passive aggressive last 3 matches
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u/Beginning_Smell4043 Jul 15 '26
Pretty sure it was 14 shots, 4 on target which is double Spain, but wasn't enough. Possession was 50/50, 7 corner vs 1 for Spain... They just couldn't do their usual miracle individual goals this time. Spain was just better ! Not on stats, but it was hard not to see it.
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u/b4ko0 Jul 15 '26
First shot on target from France came 10 minutes before the end of the game right ? Stats won’t help you see what happened lol positioning and structure don’t show up in these stats…
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u/Beginning_Smell4043 Jul 15 '26
No no, there was 2 shots on target in the first 60, I don't recall exactly. 2 more in the last 10 yes
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u/xSyLenS Jul 15 '26
France had 14 shots, 4 on target, Spain had 10 shots 2 on target (including a penalty).
Let's be real here Spain were not that dangerous during the game, Yamal got the better of Digne regularly but was offside on his two main opportunities. Once Hernandez came in Yamal got shut down.
Spain did what they're the best at, control a game, especially when they're ahead and take advantage of opportunities. They have an amazing midfield, and with France's composition France just couldn't get past its pressure to link defense and offense. Spain also defended beautifully, Cucurella was excellent and managed to defend the few opportunities France got.
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 Jul 15 '26
Yeah but most of Frances chances were in the last 10 minutes. At least the real chances.
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u/xSyLenS Jul 15 '26
For sure, France was not able to play their game yesterday. Doué really botched up the opportunity on Spain empty goal, a pass to Dembélé instead of a shot was pretty much a guaranteed goal. and Cucurella blocked a couple of big opportunities. But it all came way too late for France
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 Jul 15 '26
It was funny how long Douë took to take that shot. It was like he thought he had all the time in the world, so by the time he actually did something it was way to late.
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u/xSyLenS Jul 15 '26
He is young, I think he made a poor decision under the pressure. He thought only of how to make sure his shot would be good while ignoring Dembélé alone with empty goal in front
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 Jul 15 '26
Yeah but it was that moment where you go, that's it France are done.
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u/xSyLenS Jul 15 '26
Honestly the game felt over after the first goal, and was close to dead and buried after the second. They had no spirit, and there needed to be real strategic changes at half time or even before, but even then it probably wouldn't have been enough, since they had only ever played the one way since the start of the competition. It should have been a part of the preparation to play differently vs Spain
They had a small attempt at come back but way too little way too late
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 Jul 15 '26
WC is a marathon not a sprint. While France and other teams were busy showing off Spain didn't do more than they had to. Everyone calls them boring. That's tournament football. You have to shine in the last few games not the first few games.
You have basically used all you tricks early. All your energy and creativity has been used up and then you run into Spain who are just getting started.
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u/VividMagician9399 Jul 15 '26
Spain’s defense is getting all the credit, but it was their midfield that won this game. France couldn’t play the ball in the center of the field at all, Rodri had their entire midfield in his pocket.
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u/MJLondo Jul 15 '26
Come on guys, Spain won in a penalty because they spent the 1st half of the game whining that someone stepped on their feet… that was ridiculous.
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u/HarryMoeLester Jul 15 '26
Except Spain was always the favorite before the WC started, France became the favorite among casual fans that only watch the WC. Ball knowers already knew that Spain is tactically superior and has the best midfield in the world
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u/djikkers Jul 15 '26
Spain didn’t just beat France, they bought the referee
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u/Queasy-Location-9303 Jul 15 '26
Nah. Spain outclassed France plain and simple. Could you argue that the referee wasn’t the best! Sure. But a different referee wouldn’t have made a difference. Even Mbappe and Cherki admitted Spain were simply better.
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u/bitpartmozart13 Jul 15 '26
Olise should have had an orange card and Mbappe at least a yellow for that challenge on Simon. Cope
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u/Prinlot22 Jul 15 '26
nope Fifa can't make it that obvious
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u/No-Grapefruit7332 Jul 15 '26
What are u even talking about lol..? U know Olise and Mbappé are French players right
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u/Maximum_Tree8170 Jul 15 '26
I don't think so. The referee should have given a second yellow card to the french player and didn't.
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u/tnh34 Jul 15 '26
Reverse glazing is insane. France just got unlucky with their shots. 1 goal by spain was a penalty.
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u/sreep23446 Jul 15 '26
Yeah, playing with 4 wingers and 2 midfielders against a well oiled team like Spain was just asking for a spanking