On July 14th, in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Spain defeated France 2-0 to advance to the final. After the match, Spanish midfielder Rodri criticized the referee in an interview.
After defeating France in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Rodri expressed dissatisfaction with the standard of officiating at this World Cup, particularly the referee's failure to protect Yamal.
In the match played in Dallas, Spain defeated tournament favorites France 2-0, securing their place in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final.
Before the match, most experts had favored France, the 2018 champions and 2022 runners-up, to advance, as Didier Deschamps' team had been the top favorite to win this World Cup.
In contrast, Spain's performances at this World Cup have at times been somewhat subdued, but as the reigning European champions, they should never be underestimated. Midway through the first half, Yamal was fouled in the box by Lucas Digne, earning Spain a penalty, which Spanish forward Mikel Oyarzabal converted with a clean strike.
France created few clear chances to equalize thereafter, and with half an hour remaining, Spanish defender Pedro Porro scored the second goal, completely killing off any suspense in this FIFA World Cup semi-final.
In a post-match interview, Spain captain Rodri said he was "very proud" of Spain's "amazing" performance, but also explicitly raised concerns about the refereeing in the match.
The officiating standards at this FIFA World Cup have been widely criticized, and Rodri believes referee Ivan Barton and his team failed to protect Yamal today.
"I am incredibly proud of my team and what this victory means to us," Rodri said. "Now it is time to rest well, because on Sunday we might have the most important match of our lives."
"Limiting the opponent's performance was one of our objectives, and on that basis, we were able to control the rhythm of the game. The whole team's performance today was fantastic."
"We all supported one another. In the midfield battle against this physically strong and aggressive team, and in the fight for second balls, I received a lot of help from my teammates; you could say it was an almost perfect game."
Regarding the refereeing in this semi-final, Rodri added: "It's obvious. We've encountered this situation for three consecutive matches, and the opponent has simply committed too many fouls."
"This kid (Lamine Yamal) has been fouled 10 to 15 times. If the referee doesn't blow the whistle and stop it promptly, the defending players will keep doing it."
"The referee's leniency was evident, especially in today's match. But even in such an environment, Yamal still played brilliantly."
French FIFA World Cup winner Patrick Vieira had expected France to reach the final again, but he also admitted that Spain's performance was indeed superior today.
"Expectations were high for France to win," he said in an interview with ITV. "We are very disappointed with this result, but what is even more disappointing is the team's performance on the field. We needed key players to step up at crucial moments, but they failed to do so today."
"It wasn't just one or two people who were out of form, but everyone. Our overall performance was terrible. Spain dominated every aspect of the game. They were the better team. I don't think France played to their expected level at all."
"I said before that Spain had to be at their best to beat this French team, but I think they performed even better than their best today."
"Their overall performance was perfect. The tactical preparation for this match was extremely thorough, and they completely suppressed France tactically."
On Monday, July 20th, at 19:00 UTC (CEST), Luis de la Fuente's Spain will face the winner of the match between reigning champions Argentina and England in the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New York.
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