16/07/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | JULY 16, 2026

31

JULY 20 @ 3AM FINAL SPAIN

MATCH 101

MATCH 97

JULY 10

France Morocco Spain Belgium Mbappe 60, Dembele 66 Ruiz 30, Merino 88 Ketelaere 41 Norway England Schjelderup 36 Bellingham 45+2, 93

2 0 2 1 1 2

0 2

France

Spain

MATCH 98

Oyarzabal 22-PEN, Porro 58

MATCH 102

England

MATCH 99

M102 Winner

AET

Argentina

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY STADIUM

AET Argentina Switzerland MATCH 100 Mac Allister 10, Alvarez 112 Martinez 120+1 Dan Ndoye 67

France 3 1 Delirium in Madrid … as Spain deliver football masterclass against hapless France

M102 Loser

394/26

15/07/2026

8004 0639 7269

5092 1605 0126 3400 9680

6292 6478 2847 9254 7619

4950 2573 4538 0354 9409

5248 8569 4753 1716 0584

RM5,637,289.82

8004 + 7269 0639 + 7269 7269 + 0639

8004 + 0639 0639 + 8004 7269 + 8004

RM326,086.40

Spain fans celebrate in the Plaza de Colon in Madrid after yesterday’s match against France. – REUTERSPIC

3 5 7 1522252729

R OARS of joy and honking car horns reverberated through Madrid yesterday as Spaniards celebrated their team overcoming France and moving to the cusp of a second World Cup crown. “I am so happy and very proud of the team,” a euphoric Jaime Sanchez, 19, told AFP as thousands of revellers streamed out of the offi cial fan zone in central Madrid after watching the 2-0 win. “People didn’t give us a chance, but we were able to beat France and we will beat whoever it may be in the final,” the student said. Swarms of people sporting Spain football shirts milled around central Madrid with the red and yellow Spanish flag draped over their shoulders or painted on their cheeks. “Long live Spain!”, “I am Spanish!”, they chanted, capturing the moment on their phones and dancing to popular stadium tunes. People who were turned away from the fan zone in Colon Square occupied a bus lane, sat on patches of grass or on walls, craning their necks to glimpse the giant screen. Others crowded around overflowing bars and restaurants showing the match and fol

“In general, I think they form a good team. They don’t have very big stars, but they have a good team that knows how to play well,” he said. The form of Spain forward Lamine Yamal, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Monday, had been subject to scrutiny after he arrived at the World Cup still recovering from an injury. Yet the teenage superstar played an impor tant role as he won the first half penalty that broke the deadlock. “I think he’s been getting better,” insisted Celia Vazquez, a 50-year-old administrator who lives in Barcelona. “He’s been a bit quiet, but always when you go out onto the pitch, being in a game like that, I think it motivates you, you get fired up,” Vazquez said. Contemplating the prospect of Spain repeat ing their 2010 World Cup triumph in South Africa, student Sanchez remembered celebrat ing with his family as a young child and hoped to live the experience again. “Enjoy this moment as much as possible, you only live it, not once in life, but twice if we win this World Cup,” he said. – AFP

lowed it from the streets. The showdown in Arlington, Texas had been viewed as worthy of a final, with pundits point ing to France’s fearsome attack that boasts superstar Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d’Or win ner Ousmane Dembele. But Spain managed to snuff out Les Bleus as a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty and a goal from Pedro Porro took Luis de la Fuente’s side to Monday’s final in New Jersey with a superbly controlled display. Before the game, 17-year-old student Erika Barea admitted that the French attack “scares me a lot, because the only thing I don’t want is for France to win”. But she pointed to Spain’s superior record in recent encounters against France as a cause for optimism. La Roja knocked France out of Euro 2024 en route to the title and defeated Didier Deschamps’s men in last year’s Nations League semifinals. Jaime Lopez, a 19-year-old music student, had insisted Spain’s collective strength was enough to get over the line against star-studded France – and he was right.

6 20

RM12,026,306.04

RM215,229.35

0 4 3 9 6 9 04396

43969

0439

3969

043

969

04

69

39

10

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