World Cup Nights: Spain switch off France 2-0 and reach the final. Tonight it's England-Argentina

The first semifinal was no contest: in Arlington, Spain tamed France 2-0 with an Oyarzabal penalty and a Porro strike, reaching the second World Cup final in their history and their first since the 2010 title. Out go Mbappe and a France side that also bids farewell to coach Deschamps. Tonight at 21:00 Italian time, in Atlanta, England and Argentina fight for the other ticket to MetLife.

At Arlington's AT&T Stadium, La Roja played the perfect game. Total control of the ball (65% possession) and a game plan never in doubt: on 22', Lamine Yamal won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Lucas Digne, and from the spot Mikel Oyarzabal sent Maignan the wrong way for 1-0 (a fifth goal of the tournament for the Basque forward). In the second half Spain sealed it on 58': a one-two with Dani Olmo and a well-timed run from Pedro Porro made it 2-0. France, the pre-match favourites, barely tested the keeper and finished with an embarrassing xG of 0.3; an isolated Kylian Mbappe touched the ball just fifteen times in the first half. It was a sixth clean sheet in six games for Luis de la Fuente's men, who have conceded only one goal in the entire World Cup: battleship numbers.

For Spain it is a second World Cup final ever, sixteen years after their 2010 triumph in South Africa. 'With the utmost respect for our opponent, we feel capable of beating anyone,' de la Fuente had warned on the eve: words that became prophecy. On the other side, France's disappointment is laced with a goodbye: Didier Deschamps had already announced this would be his last World Cup as coach, after the 2018 title and the 2022 final defeat, and his long era closes without a final act. Mbappe bows out too, but leaves the tournament a legend: eight goals, a leading man's campaign and a firmly secured place in the competition's history.

The race for the Golden Boot remains wide open. With Mbappe now stuck on eight, the baton passes to Lionel Messi, also on eight goals (plus two assists) and still in the running: if Argentina advance, the captain will have more chances to pull clear. Behind them, Kane and Bellingham chase on six, Oyarzabal has climbed to five. And it is precisely the two men on six goals who headline the second semifinal, tonight.

Because tonight, at 21:00 Italian time, Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts England-Argentina, the other semifinal and perhaps the most anticipated tie of the tournament. On one side, Lionel Scaloni's reigning world champions, hunting a fourth star: 'A month and a half ago I would have signed for a semifinal, so I don't mind how we got here,' said the coach, who is weighing whether to leave out De Paul. On the other, Thomas Tuchel's England, one step from a first World Cup final sixty years after the 1966 triumph: 'We have not peaked yet, but this match will bring the best out of us,' promised the German, who welcomes back a fit Declan Rice but must do without the suspended Jarell Quansah. The subtext is all in a duel never seen before: at thirty-nine, Messi faces England for the first time in his career, memory racing back to the 1986 'Hand of God' and the last World Cup meeting in 2002.

The winner joins Spain in the final on Sunday 19 July at MetLife Stadium; the loser will face France in the third-place playoff on Saturday 18 in Miami. The picture is coming together, one piece at a time. We'll be back tomorrow at dawn, with the verdict from Atlanta.

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