Испанийн шигшээ баг Даллас цэнгэлдэхэд болсон хагас шигшээ тоглолтод Францыг 2:0 харьцаагаар хожиж, финалд шалгарлаа.
Тоглолтын 22 дахь минутад Лукас Динь Ламин Ямалыг алдаатай тогтоосноор торгуулийн цохилт зааж, Микель Оярсабаль гоолдон Испанийг тэргүүлэлд хүргэсэн юм. Францын баг өөрийн хэмнэлээ олж чадалгүй, Испанийн зохион байгуулалттай, сахилга баттай тоглолтод дарагдсаар хожигдол хүлээлээ. 70,176 үзэгчийн өмнө болсон энэхүү тоглолтод Францын лидер Килиан Мбаппе ямар ч нөлөө үзүүлж чадалгүй, тэмцээнийг өндөрлүүлэв.
Мбаппе тоглолтын дараа өгсөн ярилцлагадаа багийн ахлагчийн хувьд ялагдлын хариуцлагыг бүрэн хүлээж байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн юм. Тэрээр Испанийн тоглолтын төлөвлөгөөг өөрчлөхөд хүндрэлтэй байсныг дурдаад, ялалт байгуулахад бүх алдар хүндийг хүртдэг шигээ хожигдох үед шүүмжлэлийг хүлээж авах нь тамирчин хүний амьдралын нэг хэсэг хэмээн онцолжээ.
Энэ ялалт нь 19 настай залуу авьяастан Ламин Ямалын хувьд түүхэн амжилт болж, Испанийн шигшээ баг 2024 оны Европын аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээнээс хойш Францыг гурав дахь удаагаа том тэмцээнээс хасаж байна. Францын хувьд ирээдүйтэй залуу бүрэлдэхүүнтэй ч, Мбаппе болон бусад гол тоглогчдын оргил үе өнгөрч буй энэ үед дахин дэлхийн аварга болох зам нь улам бүр төвөгтэй болж байна. Испани улс финалд Англи болон Аргентины тоглолтоос шалгарсан багтай аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөхөөр боллоо.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
ARLINGTON, Texas — After the punishment came resignation. Kylian Mbappe put his hands on his knees and fixated on blades of grass, dejected but in full surrender. There was nothing left to resist. Spain had taken all that Mbappe and France had to offer, grinding the sleekest team at this World Cup into unrecognizable fragments.
Mbappe spent a month using this tournament to make fresh edits to his highlight reel. He kept adding to his career glory as if a collector. He powered a team that graces the sport with unrivaled fluidity and style. Most play the game. Les Bleus perform it. At their best, the experience is such an expression of art that they should request spectators wear formal attire and refrain from taking photos.
But with a berth in the final at stake, they played their worst Tuesday afternoon. That’s mostly because Spain was sensational, and when the Spaniards are playing their game, there is no art, no fluidity and no style for any opponent. France, an energy drink of a squad, couldn’t make the game a fun and speedy affair. The precision of Spain overwhelmed Mbappe’s squad in a 2-0 semifinal victory before 70,176 at Dallas Stadium.
Spain was surgical and tactical, disciplined and aligned. France appeared rattled all afternoon. It was especially evident when the French squad fell behind for the first time this tournament after a Lucas Digne foul for kicking Lamine Yamal in the leg resulted in Mikel Oyarzabal making a penalty kick in the 22nd minute.
No matter how electrifying France can be, Les Bleus weren’t going to chase down Spain. They were forced to play the game of a superb defensive team that dominates possession and seldom puts itself in dangerous situations.
“It’s difficult when you don’t change the plan of Spain,” Mbappe said in a FOX interview afterward.
Kylian Mbappé spoke with @JennyTaft postgame about what makes Spain such a difficult opponent following France’s Semifinal loss pic.twitter.com/9VYpuibtL1
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 14, 2026
And what do we make now of France’s plan? This tournament could have propelled the team to all-time status. The players had a chance to send their country to a third straight World Cup title game, where they would’ve been the favorite to win for the second time in three tournaments. Mbappe, already a remarkable player at age 27 with a historically prolific knack for scoring goals, could have risen to be among the greatest of legends in the middle of his prime.
Instead, he must settle for being an extraordinary player with a running legacy that now includes prickly words such as almost and only. He is almost a World Cup superstar unlike any we’ve seen in modern times. He is only a one-time champion, even though he has helped France make three straight deep tournament runs.
The Mbappe era has been thrilling. But he just stumbled over the fine line that separates the exceptional from the immortal.
He did wondrous things in this competition, scoring eight goals and sitting atop the Golden Boot standings with Lionel Messi. His 20 career World Cup goals rank second to Messi’s record of 21. As Messi braces for the end, Mbappe probably has two more, if not three, World Cups in him. He won’t just break the record. He figures to set a ridiculously high standard.
Yet he went out meekly on Tuesday, his name missing from the scoresheet. It was nothing like the last time he saw defeat in the World Cup. During the 2022 final against Argentina, Mbappe recorded a hat trick, resurrecting France before it lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout. Back then, he was a 23-year-old vying for back-to-back titles, and when France came up short, you exited feeling like Mbappe couldn’t have done much more.
This time, he was a non-factor. And Lamine Yamal, who just turned 19 on Monday, now stands as a rising prodigy with a team that has now denied France on three straight big international stages dating back to the 2024 Euro semifinal.
What a cruel sport of minuscule margins. Earlier in the tournament, when Mbappe was racking up braces, he sparked GOAT praise. Now his France dream team has been defeated, and you must wonder whether the Mbappe era will deliver a second World Cup crown.
He wasn’t bad in this semifinal, but he wasn’t transcendent. His talent forces him to enter a mythical game of legends, and in that arena, he will be judged harshly.
“You take all the glory when you win,” Mbappe said. “When you don’t win … you have to take the s—. It’s part of my game, my life, and as captain, I have to take all the responsibility. We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t, and we have to take what people say to us.”
This team felt like Peak France. While there is more to Mbappe’s game than speed, that superpower will start to diminish soon. He had lived a charmed World Cup life. Now, his story isn’t all about ascension. The challenge to respond will actually be more riveting than it would have been watching him celebrate another championship.
France is young enough to remain relevant. The team’s three most dynamic players — Mbappe (27), Ousmane Dembele (29) and Michael Olise (24) — have yet to see 30. But in four years, Mbappe and Dembele will be nearing the end of their prime. Longevity will be a chore. And Spain isn’t going anywhere.
Well, the team that has solved France is headed to the New York area now to play for the championship. Spain deserves to be favored over the England-Argentina winner, and if it wins, a new era with a new precocious talent begins in grandeur.
Yamal exited the stadium wearing a Yankees hat, a kind of glee that Mbappe knows well. Not too long ago, he was 19 and untroubled, gliding toward a glory of his own. That charm is precious. It never lasts.
