Olivier Giroud
Former France forward

There was extra motivation for all the players at this World Cup to give Didier the ending he wanted, and deserved.

He deserved to exit by the big door. He did not quite manage that but he is still a great, for what he has already done in his 14 years. His record does the talking for him.

He is like a second father for some players, like a second dad. For me it was not quite like that, but he gave me so many times his confidence, and I tried to repay him on the pitch.

This makes us very close and because we won that World Cup, we are linked forever. I always call him coach.

When you are in the national team, you don't have much time to work on tactics and each manager has their philosophy.

For Didier, his was more like 'you are big players, I leave you some freedom on the pitch'. He gave some instructions too of course, to keep the balance, so you always knew where each player would be.

The biggest thing he taught us was his desire, and his drive and ambition to be the absolute best and to win every single game. His competitive mindset was so clear."

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Didier Deschamps is one of only three people to win the World Cup as a player and manager - alongside Brazil's Mario Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer.

His longevity as manager is also rare in the current era, having led the national team for 14 years.

He won 20 of his 26 World Cup games as France boss, only losing three times - including this defeat by Spain in Texas.

As a player or manager, he was involved in more than half of the games France won at World Cups - and the two times they lifted the trophy.

Only three teams before now have reached the quarter-finals at least in four successive tournaments.

They lost to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 final, coming desperately close to being only the third team to retain the World Cup.

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Didier Deschamps' long, storied career with France will come to an end not how he would have wanted it - in Saturday's World Cup third-place play-off.

The dreams of the 57-year-old, who won the World Cup as both a player (in 1998) and a manager (in 2018), winning it a third time are over after their 2-0 defeat by Spain in Tuesday's first semi-final.

Having danced their way through the tournament with a series of impressive attacking displays, France managed just 10 shots all match in Dallas, their lowest total in the World Cup, with an expected goals of just 0.3 as they belied their pre-match tag of overwhelming favourites.

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That's enough about Spain for the moment.

France's disappointing showing in Dallas ensured their quest for a third World Cup triumph came to an anticlimactic end.

It was certainly not the fairytale ending manager Didier Deschamps would have had in mind after more than a decade in charge of Les Bleus.

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Spain's semi-final victory was Fabian Ruiz's 49th international appearance - and it continued a remarkable run.

The midfielder has never been on the losing side for Spain.

His 50th cap? Just the small matter of a World Cup final.

What an incredible statistic.

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In his post-match news conference last night, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said his players deserved to be in the final because of their "effort, talent, sacrifice" and their commitment to "trying to be a better version of ourselves".

"We've recaptured the spirit of 2010," he said. "The character of this team is evident in the fact that those who didn't play stayed behind to train after the match.

"This is a process, and it was all planned for us to reach this moment in the best shape possible."

Image source, Getty Images

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport at Dallas Stadium

Spain produced an absolute masterclass in control to secure their place in just their second World Cup final - leaving the rest of the world stunned at how France were blown away.

Les Bleus went into Tuesday's eagerly anticipated semi-final as overwhelming favourites having cruised through the tournament, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise making them an attacking force to be feared.

But while many were questioning how France could be beaten, Spain reminded everyone why they are European champions and unbeaten in a record-equalling 37 matches by running out 2-0 winners.

Luis de la Fuente's men have rather flown under the radar at this World Cup - even failing to beat debutants Cape Verde in their opening match - and teenage superstar Lamine Yamal has scored just one goal.

But they appear to have hit peak form at the right time and, having kept a clean sheet in six of their seven games, can expect to be favourites for Sunday's World Cup final, where they will face either Argentina or England.

Image source, Getty Images

France will be the first to admit last night's performance was well below par. But, equally, I thought Spain were outstanding.

In particular, Rodri. Just how good was the Manchester City midfielder?

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It was a night to remember for Spain. But what went wrong for France?

The 2018 winners barely laid a glove on the European champions as they bowed out of the competition with a whimper in Dallas.

Did France underestimate their opponents, or were Spain simply too strong for Didier Deschamps' side?

Let us know your thoughts by clicking the 'Get Involved' button on the left-hand side of the screen.

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• Spain have equalled Italy's record for the longest unbeaten run in international football - 37 matches.
• The five European players with the most appearances at the World Cup/European Championship combined without ever losing all play for Spain - Aymeric Laporte (22), Oyarzabal (20), Fabian Ruiz (16), Mikel Merino (14) and Yamal (14).
• Lamine Yamal has never lost a game for Spain. He has also started 12 games at the World Cup and Euros combined, ending on the winning side in all - the best 100% win rate of any European player across the two competitions when starting.
• Spain are the first team in World Cup history to keep six clean sheets at a single edition.
• The xG figure they faced against France (0.3) was the lowest by a nation in a semi-final tie in the competition since Brazil against Sweden in 1994

Image source, Getty Images

It is the first time since 2010 that Spain have reached the World Cup final.

They did so in fairly comfortable fashion, with Les Bleus failing to cause them any real problems in the final third.

You can rewatch all the action from last night here.

Spain are through to the World Cup final after surprising favourites France with a convincing semi-final victory at Dallas Stadium.

Luis de la Fuente's side blunted a France team brimming with attacking talent, controlled a game of few chances and will deservedly take their place in Sunday's showpiece thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.

Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first half after a lapse from France left-back Lucas Digne resulted in him giving forward Lamine Yamal an unceremonious wallop as he tried to clear the ball.

The spot-kick was confidently thumped into the corner by Oyarzabal and with a lead to defend, Spain's control of the match only grew.

After a below-par first-half, France were expected to come out fighting but it was an increasingly confident Spain who seized the upper hand once more as Porro played a lovely one-two with Dani Olmo before slotting in the second at the near post.

With a little more than half an hour to save themselves, France were again thwarted in their attempts to break down an incredibly disciplined Spain outfit, who have conceded just once all tournament.

Spain remained calm, composed and full of class to the end and, ultimately, saw the game out comfortably.

For France, their hopes of making a third final in succession are over as they go into Saturday's third-place play-off, which will represent the end of an era - with coach Didier Deschamps departing at the end of the tournament after 14 years at the helm.

Meanwhile, Spain will now travel to New Jersey, where they will await the winners of Wednesday's second semi-final between England and Argentina, as they bid to win the World Cup for just the second time.

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday's live page!

Last night, four teams became three as Spain outclassed France in the semi-finals to book their place in the World Cup final.

England and Argentina are the other two teams still standing, and they meet in Atlanta later today with a place in Sunday's final in New Jersey at stake.

Stick with us throughout the day for all the reaction to Spain's victory over France, plus build-up, team news and analysis ahead of England's showdown with Argentina tonight.

Let's get started, shall we?