VIVA ESPANA! Sensational Spain dominate hapless France to reach World Cup final and set up possible England rematch in New York showpiece

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Spain booked their place in the

World Cup

final and dumped out hapless

France

with one of the most eye-catching performances of the tournament so far.

Mikel Oyazarbal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half after Lucas Digne took down Lamine Yamal. The reigning European champions then took control after the break as Pedro Porro polished off a slick team move. Yamal thought he had got a third minutes later but was denied by the offside flag.

Luis de la Fuente's men will now turn their attention to a showdown with either

Argentina

or

England

in the World Cup final in New York on Sunday. France in the meantime have the third-place playoff against the other losing semi-finalist to consider in what will be Didier Deschamps' final game in charge.

As expected, the first semi-final had a tense opening, with the only real chance of note coming through Kylian Mbappe following a barnstorming run. But the French striker was crowded out by the Spanish defence.

Spain

then came to life and were given a golden chance to take the lead midway through the first period as Yamal was taken down by Digne as he attempted to clear the ball. Given his stunning record for

Spain,

it was little surprise to see Oyazarbal step up and he made no mistake by firing beyond Mike Maignan for his fifth goal of the tournament.

Things then got even worse for France on the half-hour mark with Arsenal's William Saliba hobbling off. Spain should have taken advantage after a lovely move but Fabian Ruiz prodded wide from Yamal's cross.

France boss Deschamps attempted to wrestle back control for his side on the stroke of half-time, with Adrien Rabiot replaced by Manu Kone, while Bradley Barcola came off in place of Desire Doue shortly after.

But those changes appeared to have the opposite effect as

Tottenham

defender Porro played an expert one-two with Dani Olmo and tucked home past Maignan.

Yamal thought he had extended the lead even further with a stunning finish, but his celebrations were curtailed by a narrow offside decision.

France barely mustered a response in the closing stages, with Mbappe's deflected effort the closest they got to reducing the deficit. Doue did have a late chance with Unai Simon out of his goal but fired right at the Spain keeper.

Given their pre-season tag of favourites to claim the World Cup, France will rue a real missed opportunity. But their opponents will toast a stunning victory - and they now have the chance to hold both the World Cup and the Euros at the same for the second time.