Mikel Oyarzabal buried a 22nd-minute penalty to put Spain ahead of France 1-0 in Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal, converting after Lucas Digne’s foul on Lamine Yamal inside the box at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The spot kick landed in a match billed beforehand as the unofficial final before the final, and it immediately forced Kylian Mbappe and a French side many considered co-favorites to start chasing the game.
What Led to the Mikel Oyarzabal Penalty
Digne was attempting to clear the ball near his own goal line when Yamal arrived a half-step ahead of him. The France left back never saw the 19-year-old winger and made contact as he swung his leg, sending Yamal down inside the area, according to CNN’s live coverage of the match.
The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. There was no lengthy VAR delay and no overturn, just a quick whistle that sent Oyarzabal to the ball while Mbappe and France’s back line looked on. Digne threw his arms up for a moment in protest, then turned away, aware the contact had left him with no real argument to make.
Oyarzabal did not rush it. He picked his spot low to the goalkeeper’s right and beat him cleanly, a finish that was nothing if not a calm conversion under pressure. It marked his fifth goal of the tournament.
How the Spain Lead Changes the Semifinal
Spain entered Sunday having conceded a single goal across six matches, building its run on a defense that rarely cracks and a possession game that wears opponents down. A 1-0 cushion les Luis de la Fuente’s team dictate tempo while France is forced to open up against a back line anchored by Rodri and Pau Cubarsi.
Mbappe entered the match tied with Lionel Messi in career World Cup Golden Boot scoring, and a chasing France attack built around Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise carries obvious counterpunch danger for a Spain side that has generated the tournament’s most off-target shots. Coach Didier Deschamps had already flagged the stakes a day earlier.
“Spain confirmed that they are the favorite,” Deschamps said before kickoff, as quoted by NBC News. “We know that this might be a spectacular game with two teams with plenty of quality.”
Mikel Oyarzabal’s Path to the World Cup Stage
Sunday’s goal came in Oyarzabal’s first World Cup appearance of his career. A torn ACL kept the Real Sociedad captain out of the 2022 tournament entirely, and the 29-year-old is only now making his debut on soccer’s biggest stage after more than a decade as a professional.
He has spent his entire career at Real Sociedad, racking up over 400 appearances and more than 130 goals for the only club he has ever played for, a rare stretch of loyalty in a sport defined by transfers. His signature moment remains the winning goal in the Euro 2024 final against England, a strike that delivered Spain’s fourth European title and turned the mild-mannered forward into a national hero back home in the Basque Country.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has called Oyarzabal one of the most complete players in his squad.
“If he were from another country, we’d be calling him world class,” de la Fuente said, according to FIFA.com. “He does everything well.”
Spain took that world-class form into the second half still needing to close out a France team unlikely to stay quiet for long.
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