A Spanish smothering in Dallas means Tottenham Hotspur's Pedro Porro will compete in Sunday's World Cup final, and take on either Djed Spence's England or Cristian Romero's Argentina.
The majority backed tournament favorites France to prevail over the European champions, who had won the previous two head-to-head matchups and have conceded just one goal all tournament.
Les Bleus' attacking supremacy was regarded as simply too much for Spain's control to handle, with the four horsemen leading France's line all purring this summer. However, La Roja were able to reduce Didier Deschamps' team to a group of disconnected individuals.
Spain exploited France's flaws out of possession, and dominated in midfield. The Rodri x Fabián Ruiz pivot was outstanding. After Mikel Oyarzabal emphatically dispatched an early penalty, France toiled without reward. Spain asserted total control. It was similar to recent Clásicos between Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the latter's collective might outmaneuvering Madrid's individualism.
France's feared attack was rendered irrelevant, and there was no resurgence even after Porro doubled Spain's lead before the hour mark. Instead, La Roja cruised into Sunday's final against the odds.
Spurs World Cup winner guaranteed for third consecutive tournament
Spurs have had World Cup winners on their books between 1930 and 2018, such as Jürgen Klinsmann, Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa. However, it remarkably wasn't until Hugo Lloris won the 21st iteration with France that a Spurs player had lifted the trophy while representing the Lilywhites.
Lloris has proven to be a trailblazer.
His lead was followed by Cristian Romero in Qatar, who was a mainstay in Argentina's defence as Lionel Messi enjoyed his crowning glory. The holders are at it again this summer, flirting with elimination unrelentingly but always finding a way. Messi, at 39, remains otherworldly, and Romero has shaken off a knock or two to start all but one of Argentina's matches so far.
He may well emerge as the pantomime villain in Wednesday's semifinal with England, which promises to be a special occasion in Atlanta. One of the sport's great international rivalries is renewed, although I don't think Djed Spence, or any of the England team, for that matter, will be thinking about the geopolitical context when they take to the field.
They're merely worried about Messi and the voodoo magic Argentina are capable of performing.
While there's a chance both Spence and Romero aren't at the club come the end of the transfer window, with the latter almost certain to leave, we can still claim a World Cup winner were either England or Argentina victorious over Spain on Sunday.
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