How Luis de la Fuente used Rodri and Ruiz to help Spain upset France at the World Cup

ARLINGTON, TEXAS — A World Cup semifinal match-up of the second- and third-ranked teams in men's soccer pitted the last two reigning Ballon d'Or winners and two of the best playmakers of the game against each other on Tuesday in Texas, and the best team won. MORE — Spain’s collective ends Mbappe’s coronation But how did Spain do it, shutting out France and advancing to the 2026 World Cup Final with a classy 2-0 win ? MORE — France vs Spain player ratings One of those Ballon d'Or winners sure had a big role in it, as his managed dialed up the right plan to move his team from Arlington to East Rutherford. Rodri, Ruiz have been here before and showed it The 2022-23 and 2024-25 Champions League finals can tell us a thing or two about what Spain did correctly on Tuesday, as two domineering midfielders played prominent roles at both ends of the pitch. Fabian Ruiz had three chances created while covering 6.4 miles of grass despite making only seven sprints in PSG's 5-0 win over Inter Milan on the final day of the 2024-25 European campaign, while countryman Rodri scored the lone goal while creating two chances, nailing 6-of-6 long balls, and making nine recoveries in the 2022-23 final triumph over Inter. They were up to the same tricks on Tuesday in Texas, as Rodri and Ruiz alternated turns as the pressure-maker in turning France's midfield into a hit-and-hope machine. Rodri went 90 minutes and Ruiz 77 in making the task of holding Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, and Ousmane Dembele a lot more simple. Yes, Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella were excellent out wide but it was the two gents covering ground ahead of them that set the table for this win. Ruiz won 5-of-7 duels and created two chances while making seven recoveries, and Rodri was a menace with 11-of-16 duels in his favor while at the center of seven fouls (four committed, three drawn) in a game-controlling performance. Mbappe was never quite right during his 90 minute shift despite completing the most dribbles and taking the most shots. And perhaps most importantly, he wasn't often found in the right places to make the difference. Adrien Rabiot's first-half yellow card didn't help but Milan midfielder, his replacement Kouadio Kone, and 90-minute man Aurelien Tchouameni just couldn't settle into the habit of finding Mbappe — or finding Dembele and Olise to give them the choice to feed Mbappe — over the semifinal. A 4-2-3-1 (kinda) controls the heart of the game Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena, and Mikel Oyarzabal found joy going to their preferred places thanks to Ruiz and Rodri's mastery of the midfield. That unsettled France's midfield and it tilted even further in Spain's direction once Rabiot exited at the break, with Les Bleus already operating without William Saliba from the 30th minute . Maybe Didier Deschamps missed a note or two by not trying N'Golo Kante or Warren Zaire-Emery, but the duo played a combined 19 minutes — all from WZE — in the tournament. Kone was off-kilter and Cherki simply a game-chaser. Meanwhile, De la Fuente was able to look to Mikel Merino and Pedri in an embarrassment of riches in the midfield. Whether it's England or Argentina on the other side in Sunday's final, that combination is going to be a handful as Spain seek a third World Cup title. Would you bet against them, especially given a futher day's rest?