It was only a couple of weeks ago that we drew a parallel between the Kylian Mbappe-inspired French team at the 2026 World Cup and the legendary West Indies cricket team of the 1980s.
Two completely different sports, but the teams had one striking similarity — a four-pronged attacking line-up.
France launched attacks with Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise creating havoc in the final third of the opposition, with their speed and movement.
In cricket, the West Indies dominated with their batters giving a masterclass in the art of decimating rival bowling attacks.
But their biggest strength was their four fearsome fast bowlers, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Joel Garner, who blew the opposition away with their scorching speed, swing and bounce.
Even for most world-class batters of the time, facing them from the other end of the 22-yard strip was like challenging a prime Rafael Nadal on the French Open centre court — you had no chance.
But for all their dominance, the West Indies lost the 1983 World Cup final to a modest Indian team at Lord’s.
While analysing the ruthless French team after the two-time world champions stormed into the round of 16, we also felt that Mbappe and company could not let their guard down at any stage, as anything can happen in a World Cup knockout game.
The West Indies defeat in the 1983 World Cup final was a stark reminder that even the mighty can be brought to their knees.
But this was not anticipated by most experts and former elite footballers who share their opinions on global television platforms.
Time and again, they wrote Spain off, terming them as a team incapable of taking on France in the semifinals.
That their possession-based football would be torn to shreds by the French attacking quartet, who need less than four passes to find the back of the net.
The Spaniards, they said, can go on passing the ball — it takes one clean tackle to win back possession and launch a frightening counterattack.
While this philosophy may work against most teams, Spain is a different kettle of fish.
La Roja had already proved it by taming the French in the 2024 Euro semifinal, when they went on to win the title.
But this time around, the prospect of seeing the brilliant French attackers — all of whom came into the World Cup after enjoying impressive club seasons — was too alluring.
Spain getting off to a slow start in that goalless draw against Cape Verde played into that narrative that they were a team who would struggle to reach the final with France in their half of the draw.
Compared to the sizzling start made by France in the tournament, Spain needed time to find form. With their two key players, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, battling injury concerns, it was easy for the critics to write Spain off.
But Spain never lost hope; they gradually built momentum, picking one win after another before knocking out two formidable rivals — Portugal in the round of 16 and Belgium in the quarterfinals.
Yamal, the teen sensation, was beginning to show the flashes of brilliance that saw him become the breakout star of the triumphant Euro 2024 campaign.
Still, their performances were not good enough to convince the pundits, who strangely forgot that this was a team managed by Luis de la Fuente.
The 63-year-old has many qualities as a football coach; the biggest of them perhaps is his patience.
Having primarily worked at the grassroots level, De la Fuente has shaped a generation of young Spanish footballers, helping the country win the European championship twice at the under-19 (2015) and under-21 (2019) levels.
In all these years, De la Fuente has remained true to the Spanish philosophy of passing and controlling the midfield, counter-passing and short-passing combinations.
All these elements were on display when Spain won Euro 2024. That form and rhythm reappeared in the semifinal against France on Tuesday as they dominated possession, winning the ball back when France attempted to build momentum and tormenting their opponents with their incisive passing in the final third.
The combination of midfield control and passing intent surprised the French team as much as it surprised the pundits who backed Mbappe and his teammates to the hilt to make the semifinal look like a walk in the park.
Ironically, it was the Spanish team that had fun with the ball at their feet as France endured a torrid time, chasing shadows and ultimately paying the price for not strengthening their midfield.
There is one key difference between the French football set back and the shock West Indies cricket defeat in 1983.
Unlike Spain, the Indian cricket team was not a World Cup contender despite their impressive performances in the tournament. They blossomed into a world-class unit two years later in the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia, when they emerged champions after an unbeaten run.
Spain was already a world-class team. Now they have reminded the critics of the perils of writing off a team built on a simple philosophy of passing the ball.
Source: Khaleej Times