Seventy percent possession smashes France! Spain delivers perfect revenge and returns to the final after 16 years

In control-based football—on the stage of the World Cup semifinals—Spain announced its return as king with a textbook-style triumph.

In the early hours of July 15 Beijing time, Spain beat France 2-0 in comprehensive fashion, reaching the World Cup final again after 16 years. Throughout the match, Spain used an suffocating 70% possession rate to completely overwhelm the defending champions—one goal in the first half, one goal in the second half—leaving Mbappé with no space for any meaningful counterattack. France’s fast transitions, which they pride themselves on, proved useless in the face of Spain’s extreme possession football.

This victory was not only a win on the scoreboard, but also a win of tactical philosophy. When the whole world chases speed and clashes, Spain repeatedly proved with precise short passes: football is not just about running fast and jumping high—it’s about the kind of control where “the ball is always at my feet, and you can never hurt me.” It was also the third time in the past three years that Spain knocked out France in the knockout stage—Los Buitres have become the French people’s “number one nemesis.”

Mbappé’s Golden Boot journey is temporarily frozen at 8 goals. He had been tied with Messi for the top spot before; now that France are eliminated, whether he can lift the Golden Boot will only depend on how Messi performs—if Messi scores in the next match, Mbappé’s Golden Boot dream will be completely shattered.

The other final berth will be decided at 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on July 16—England and Argentina, after 24 years, meet again in the knockout stage. This is not only a direct showdown between two elite powerhouses, but also a replay of the 2022 Qatar World Cup final. Back then, Argentina won; this time, England is holding its revenge fire. The clash between the two generations’ key cores—Bellingham and Messi—will inevitably push the match to a climax.

For off-the-field prediction markets, Spain’s qualification means yet another batch of bets on the defending champions goes to zero. But for those investors who have firmly backed Spain since the group stage, they are only one step away from becoming legendary. One spot in the final is already secured—whether the other ticket belongs to England or Argentina, this World Cup final will be an epic showdown of “old kings vs. new upstarts” or “old rivals fighting again.”

Spain waited 16 years to return to the final stage, and they are only one last victory away from lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy. As for who the opponent will be—that will be another story. The only thing that is certain is this: this Spain has already, in the most extreme way possible, declared to the whole world that possession football has not died—it’s simply waiting for the best moment to return. And tonight, that moment is here. $ETH $BTC