Spaniards: We Will Beat Any Team We Face

Spaniards Celebrate Reaching the Final

A massive celebration erupted across Madrid, with echoes of joyful chants and car horns as Spaniards celebrated their team's qualification to the final of the North America World Cup at the expense of France, bringing them close to a second world title. Jaime Sánchez, 19, visibly emotional as thousands of fans left the official fan zone in central Madrid, said: 'I am very happy and extremely proud of the team.' The student added: 'They didn't pick us to win, but we managed to beat France and we will beat any team we face in the final,' after 'La Roja' won 2-0 in Dallas in the semi-final.

The center of the capital Madrid was filled with crowds wearing Spanish national team shirts, while many wrapped the red-and-yellow Spanish flag around their shoulders or painted it on their faces.

Fans chanted slogans like 'Long live Spain!' and 'I am Spanish!', while documenting the moment on their phones and dancing to famous stadium songs. After being denied entry to the fan zone in Plaza de Colón, some people occupied a bus lane or sat on grass patches and walls, trying to catch a glimpse of the giant screen. Others gathered around packed restaurants broadcasting the match, following the game from the streets.

The match held in Texas was considered an early final, with analysts pointing to the immense attacking power of the French team led by star Kylian Mbappé and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé. But Spain managed to contain the threat of 'Les Bleus' thanks to a penalty scored by Mikel Oyarzabal and a goal from Pedro Porro, leading Luis de la Fuente's squad to Sunday's final in New Jersey.

Players Show Confidence

Student Erica Barea, 17, admitted that the French attack 'scares me a lot, because the last thing I wanted was for France to win.' However, she pointed to Spain's better record in recent meetings with France as a reason for optimism. 'La Roja' eliminated France from Euro 2024 in the semi-finals on their way to winning the title, and also beat Didier Deschamps' men in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals last year. Barea said: 'We have Euro in our minds a lot; we faced them before and beat them. I think we are playing well. The players look confident.' Jaime López, 19, a student, affirmed that Spain's collective strength was enough to overcome the star-studded French team. He said: 'Overall, I think they are a good team. They don't have very big stars, but they have a good team that knows how to play well.' The form of Spain striker Lamine Yamal, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Monday, was under scrutiny after his recent injury problems. But the young star played a key role by winning the first-half penalty that opened the scoring.

Celia Vázquez, 50, an administrative employee from Barcelona, said: 'I think he is improving gradually.' She added, 'He was a bit quiet, but when you always go down to the pitch and play a match like this, I think it gives you motivation and fuels your enthusiasm.'

With the possibility of Spain repeating their 2010 World Cup achievement, student Sánchez recalled celebrating with his family as a young child, expressing his hope to experience it again. He said: 'Enjoy this moment as much as possible; living it doesn't happen once in a lifetime, but twice if we win this World Cup.'