ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Spanish goaltender Unai Simón sprinted from the line to break the charge. Kylian Mbappe He heads towards the ball as France desperately tries to score a goal. world cup Semi-finals.
Simon got there first and headed the ball away, but France forward Desir Douet tried to control the ball and suddenly found himself wedged between the World Cup’s top scorer and the goal.
Even in a rare moment of confusion late in the game, Spain’s organized defense and outstanding keeper again prevented a goal from being conceded.
Spain defeated France 2-0 Sixteen years after winning the title, it was the only other time the team had advanced that far in the tournament. This was Spain’s sixth shutout in this year’s expanded 48-team World Cup.
The keeper made a frantic dash back after Simon’s header gave the ball straight to Doue. Simon spun his body around with his back to the net, then pounced with no hands on the edge of the area to score a deflection. After that, it took him several strides before he was finally able to drop onto the ball.
Simon and Spain’s most recent shutout was against a FIFA top-ranked team where Mbappe entered the game with 20 goals in 20 World Cup games. The France captain is the 2022 Golden Boot award winner, and his eight goals in this competition put him level with Argentina great Lionel Messi’s 21 goals for the all-time lead.
“I’m very happy with the team’s work. We knew today was going to be a very complex game with great players, and I think we have them too,” Spain defender Pau Kubalsi said in a translated statement. “We are a great family. We supported each other for 90 minutes and put more pressure than ever before.”
Mbappe only had three shots on Tuesday, none of them on target. Although France failed to create a major scoring threat, they missed the chance to become the third team to reach three consecutive World Cup finals.
France coach Didier Deschamps said, “Spain defended well. I’ve watched all of Spain’s games, and they played very well today.” “They locked out all the spaces and we also made some technical mistakes. So it’s hard to cause problems when the technical level is below par, especially compared to previous games.”
Simon’s only goal in this tournament was Belgium’s equalizer in the 41st minute of Spain’s 2-1 quarter-final victory. This broke his World Cup scoreless record of 650 minutes.
Tuesday’s semifinal game was played at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, who had played a Round of 16 game eight days earlier. Spain beat Portugal 1-0 He set a record for six consecutive World Cup games without conceding a goal. That includes Simon, who stopped two shots from the 41-year-old. Cristiano Ronaldohad played in the last of six World Cups.
Spain’s record for consecutive World Cup shutouts has broken the records set by Italy (1990) and Switzerland (2006-10). It started with a 0-0 draw in the Round of 16 in 2022, which Morocco won on penalties, but it included a surprising turn of events. Scoreless draw against Cape Verde this year.
Simon surpassed previous records No points scored for 517 consecutive minutes Austria 3-0 blank to open the knockout round.
___
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
