The respect for Spain that Didier Deschamps spoke of resembled more the fear that Lamine Yamal pointed out, because the ball belonged to the national team. As always. As in 2010.
The depth that Spain had in the Euro Cup, when it entered the area like a dagger in the flesh to gut the aristocracy of the continent, was not the same, with Nico Williams broken and Lamine progressing. So, it was necessary to return to the origins, to possession not only as an offensive weapon but also defensive. France feared it more, even more than it should, because it had suffered it, in the Euro Cup, in the Nations League, or even in the Paris Olympic Games, in its sanctuary. If what happened at the Princes’ Field was like desecrating the Pantheon, Dallas has been the storming of the Bastille, on a July 14 that ended up being a national holiday in the squares of Spain, with flags that today no one looks at with disdain. Like never before. Like in 2010.
To organize around the ball, a buoy is necessary. It is a rule of the physics of football. So, the defensive midfielder had to be found, Rodri, lost at the start of this World Cup, slow, disoriented, after a season in which he returned from a long injury. The knockout stages found him back, hierarchical, with a strong leg and the periscope raised.
Leaving Pedri on the bench is like going to a daughter’s wedding without a tie. You take a risk. Luis de la Fuente, with a good hand and wise decisions, has done so because of the Canary Islander’s form and because Dani Olmo and Fabián adapt better to the habitat of the national team’s midfield. Pedri is not the one from Barça; Olmo, neither. He is better.
The range of available pieces is so wide in Spanish football that the ball always wins. In fact, De la Fuente does something similar to what Vicente del Bosque did: when in doubt, a midfielder. The man from Salamanca said “one of the good ones.” He did it when Villa got injured and placed Cesc as a ‘false nine’ in Euro 2012, the third title of the trilogy. Now we see something similar with Baena in the place that Nico Williams would occupy. Like in 2010.
With those footballers, it is difficult to lose the ball, which is what France intended, withdrawn, waiting for the steal or the mistake to activate its forwards, deadly in space. They barely found the opportunity to do so and, when they did, they could not get past Cubarsí and Laporte, with excellent readings and coverages, whether in anticipation or in the ball exit by the Barça player. The World Cup magnifies the figure of this 19-year-old footballer, whose play in the step forward is like that of another midfielder.
Spain made France vulgar. It did not only suffer from the Spanish center-backs but from the defense as a whole, with Cucurella and Pedro Porro secure and deep. The second goal of the Extremaduran full-back is proof. That is another of the similarities with the 2010 champion, this time with fewer goals conceded than then before the final, one in seven matches.
Without having the best version of Lamine, although key in Digne‘s innocent penalty, Spain recognizes itself collectively against those who have done so in the stars like Vinicius, Haaland, or Mbappé. They are no longer there. Against Messi, Bellingham, or Kane, there will be a great team, a choral Spain. Like in 2010.
Read more The second great goal by Pedro Porro in France 0-2 Spain in the 2026 World Cup semifinal