India, July 15 -- In a city known for its cowboy spirit, Spain reined in France, the World Cup's most attacking side, with a masterful display of tactical football to cruise to a 2-0 win in the first semi-final at Dallas.

So complete was the win that by the end one could see a certain acceptance of defeat on the faces of the French fans, their coach and the players. They were beaten; well beaten by a team that simply was at a different level.

It's easy to say that France turned up flat but to be fair, they tried everything. France manager Didier Deschamps' team just couldn't figure out how to stop this Spanish Armada. Lamine Yamal earned his team a penalty after he was kicked by Lucas Digne and Mikel Oyarzabal comprehensively converted ...