​The great Spanish revolution in football transformed the world game in the first decade of the 21st century, and now once more Spain are in a World Cup final having delivered a lesson in Dallas on how to play this game simply and beautifully.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe France team of 2026 went with barely a whimper: Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise – to borrow a local analogy – corralled into the paddock and the gate closed. The reigning European champions are an unpretentious side, with just the single superstar in Lamine Yamal, but even he has no choice but to work as part of this cohesive, intelligent team.The 29-year-old Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal dispatched a penalty won by Yamal in the first half. The Tottenham Hotspur full-back Pedro Porro, part of a side almost relegated from the Premier League this season, added the second after half-time. But it was not always about what Spain did in this game – rather it was much about what they stopped France doing. The most extravagantly appointed attacking trident in the tournament scarcely troubled a Spain team that have conceded just one goal in seven World Cup games.There was rarely the requirement for a last-ditch tackle or a spectacular save from Unai Simon in the Spain goal. Instead, an unswerving belief from this Spain team that the game could be controlled and shaped, and France directed away from the areas that made them dangerous. Spain’s passing triangles in midfield are swift and dizzying and then suddenly they play the ball out into space. For France, the pitch was first too small, and then in an instant much too big.For Luis de la Fuente, the coach of no great standing that led this team to victory in the 2024 European Championship, this was a stunning win. For Didier Deschamps, whom De la Fuente also eliminated at Euro 2024, it was an embarrassment in his last game in charge of France. Four World Cups for the famous Frenchman and he had nothing to offer here but a blind faith in his attackers who did not – could not – deliver.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn the Fifa VIP seats, four greats of Spain’s 2010 World Cup win – Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol – looked on approvingly. Their side, dominant over two Euros and one World Cup, was different. Built from the great Real Madrid and Barcelona teams of the era, this Spain side has reached the World Cup final on Sunday without anything like that big-two power.Full report to follow…10:27pm10:26pmIt’s a dream come true. Truly it was my biggest dream. Very, very happy for the team. From the start to the end we played a great game. We did everything possible today to be able to go through.We knew we were facing a very, very tough team and we did everything so well. This is a team effort, it’s not about me. I just want to say congratulations to everybody for producing such a great performance.Of course we knew this [having the ball], was on