Spain 2-1 France: Euro 2024 semi-final – live reaction | Euro 2024

France gave it everything, but ultimately Spain’s extra flair got them the lead and they defended it superbly. I guess a different kind of France might’ve had the cohesion to create more – their biggest chances of the second half came from set-pieces – but Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and the back four were gigantic.

FULL TIME: Spain 2-1 France

90+6 min On the touchline, the Spain bench are serried, ready to celebrate…

90+5 min The Spanish fans olé every successful pass, and their team have done brilliantly disappearing these last 10 minutes. I’m pretty sure those of us with no dog in this fight would love an equaliser and extra time, but the idea that the game be won by an immortalworldy from a 16-year-old is a joyous thing.

90+4 min Two more changes for Spain, Zubimendi and Ferran Torres replacing Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.

90+3 min Spain knock it about, Rodri and Ruiz to the fore, and what a pair they are, the most brutish artists you could ever hope to enjoy. Rodri, in particular, is a generational great, and at 28 he’s not even nearly finished.

90+1 min Griezmann picks out Upamecano at the back post, but by the time the ball arrives at him, it’s lost all its pace and Merino does enough to win the goalkick, at cost of an arm to the coupon.

90 min We’ll have five added minutes.

90 min Now Cucurella appears on the left wing, crossing low, and Kounde, who’s had a good game blocks behind. A corner is everything France don’t want but Williams doesn’t go shot, he crosses and Giroud heads clear, Hernandez driving forward … so Lamine hauls him back before Laporte stands his ground. Lamine is booked and Griezmann will now stick one into the box from 40 yards away.

90 min Camavinga is late on Cucurella; he’s booked.

88 min Credit to both sides for this second half: France have stepped up their aggression and hurled everything they can at this, while Spain have defended the box and the space just in front of it with spite and joy.

86 min Barcola drops off to control on his chest, turning and sliding Mbappe in behind! He runs at Merino, shifting it to conjure a yard, and looks to be seeking the far corner … only to change his mind and whip towards the near post … and well over the top. That was a difficult chance, but he ought to have done better with it that that. It’s intense out there, both sides nervous: Spain don’t want to lose what they have, and France can’t countenance the concept of losing.

85 min Looking woozy, Laporte is helped off, and he receives more treatment o the touchline. But he’ll be back with us soon, I shouldn’t wonder.

83 min Laporte runs into Giroud’s shoulder, nose-first, and takes a fair old zetz. He’s down receiving treatment.

83 min Whoever wins here, if they play to similar standard in the final, England or Netherlands have a problem.

82 min Again, Lamine nips inside and again he looks for the far top corner, this time finding the shape but not the dip. He’s quite good at association football.

81 min “I always sing Gamst Pedersen to the chorus of Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi,” admits Matt Taylor.

80 min Barcola looks dangerous and he isolates Nacho then eases past, the defenders using every fibre of corporeality to slide in and make the challenge. The eventuating corner comes to nothing.

79 min Another change for France, Giroud on for Dembele. Part of me wonders about removing a crosser to stick on a target man, but I guess there’s no other option without going three at the back.

78 min Nice from Barcola, who finds Hernandez, but when he cuts back, Mbappe, pulling out of the box, is surrounded.

76 min Double change for Spain: Merino and Oyarzabal for Morata and Olmo.

76 min Barcola into Greizmann, who crosses to the far post where Dembele tickles back. A poor touch from Vivian then allows Camavinga to slide in, poking the ball across for Hernandez, on the edge, and with his wrong foot he curls over the top. That wasn’t as good a chance as Jermaine Jenas seems to think it was, but at this stage, if France lose it’ll haunt the nightmares of his grandchildren.

74 min “I heard a Frenchman pronounce Bradley Barcola’s first name with three syllables and it immediately brought ‘Rum and Coca-Cola’ to mind,” offers Kári Tulinius.

Like Arsenal singing “Samir Naz-er-ree” to Baby Give It Up.

73 min Dembele swings out but too far out, and Spain bring the ball away.

72 min France are pushing Spain back now, or Spain are sitting back now, or a bit of both. But with 983 defenders in the box, Mbappe can’t fight his way through, and I wonder if it might need a set-piece to create an equaliser; as I type, France win a corner.

71 min Barcola gets on the ball in space and makes straight for Vivian, oozing past him on the outside. By way of punishment, he wears a little kick – a kicklet – but can’t find the cross he needs.

70 min Cucurella finds Williams down the left, who plays him back in, but Dembele does really well to chase back and make the tackle.

68 min The more time elapses, the more Spain are playing for the final whistle, looking to keep the ball rather than pass it aggressively. It makes some sense, but against a side looking to counter-press and with Tchouameni and Camvinga in midfield, it’s also risky.

67 min It’s gone a little scrappy, which I don’t think will upset either team: Spain will feel it burns time, while France are looking to milk any chaos they can create.

66 min “Thank you for mentioning Italy v West Germany, a match that for my dad’s generation epitomised the essence of a thriller,” writes Giovanni Cafagna. “Rivera, who had won the Balon d’Or the year before, scored the winner after a match fought technically and physically at the highest level, that only Brazil and Pelè in the final, would make it an even better game. I was one at the time, but my dad remembered it well and it was my favourite bedtime story. He’s not around anymore, and there’s a tear going down my cheek. Happy memories.”

Nothing gets our eyeballs sweating like football.

64 min Barcola has gone to the left wing, which makes some sense, but I wonder if Mbappe might find it harder to create space in the middle of the pitch.

63 min And at the back post, Upamecano is up and heading down, but he doesn’t get enough on it, the ball bouncing up and to safety.

62 min Triple change for France: off go Kante, Rabiot and Kolo Muani; on come Griezmann, Barcola and Camavinga, in time for a France corner.

61 min “I can’t hear Cucurella without singing it to the Gipsy Kings’ Bamboléo,” admits Pat Cousins.

61 min Tchouameni is late on Morata; he’s booked.

60 min Williams megs Kounde, who does a really good job of closing off space with his body – excellent defending. And immediately, France attack down the right, Dembele crossing hard and Simon shovelling away.

58 min Vivian, by the way is a centre-back – if I were Deschamps which, for avoidance of doubt, I’m not, I’d be ordering a midfielder to be alongside Mbappe whenever possible to create an overload.

57 min More ill luck for Spain, Vivian replacing Jesus Navas, who looks to be injured. On the plus side, though, his eyes still look banging.

56 min Ruiz plays a lovely speculative pass, low and curling into space behind Kounde. He does just enough to edge out Williams who, though he’s quick, has legs on him.

55 min Does anyone have songs to which they can’t help but sing a footballer’s name? I have it with Tchouameni and this.

53 min And he curls in a decent corner too, Tchouameni dashing in to head over. That wasn’t a bad chance.

51 min Lovely control from Dembele, killing a crossfield pass beautifully before passing a cross into Unai Simon’s grateful arms. The first time I saw him play, in a pre-season friendly for Dortmund, I thought i’d seen a superstar, but he hasn’t been able to stay fit enough for long enough nor improve enough. he does, though, still have time.

51 min “This is my third France v Spain game,” confides my colleague Philip Cornwall. “I was in Bruges for the 2000 quarter-final when Raul missed a penalty for 2-2 and in Hannover for the last 16 in 2006 when Thierry Henry fell over. Now this. Hasn’t been cheap but I feel I am getting my money’s worth each time. More than for France v Belgium, anyway.”

Goodness me, I’m still experiencing residual boredom from those games to this day, and all I did was watch them on telly. Enjoy!

50 min Olmo out to the overlapping Cucurella, who flashes one of those low crosses across the box, and Saliba does well to get to it before Morata. Currently, Spain look the likelier.

48 min “Sending defenders to the shop,” begins Michael Meagher. “Apparently Frank Quinn missed the Wales-Belgium match in Euro 2016.

Aha, the night Hal Robson-Kanu channelled the combined might of his surname.

46 min into Morata, who finds Williams, and out of nowhere, Maignan charges way out of his goal to slide in … and make the challenge. I guess that was good keeping, but it was very nearly catastrophic keeping because really Williams should’ve nipped around him – and he’s now stretching out his groin.

46 min We go again. Dare we hope for more of the same?