Forget the front three: Win over France shows real reason behind Spain's World Cup dominance

Forget the front three: Win over France shows real reason behind Spain's World Cup dominance. Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of global football development, said Spain’s edge over France came from technical quality plus a culture of collective football. Speaking to FIFA.com ahead of the Tuesday night semifinal in Texas, Wenger argued that Spain can beat France because their team play is stronger than France’s. The analysis centered on how Spain neutralized threats from France’s attacking trio—Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and players like Michael Olise—by preventing forward-facing moments and maintaining numerical advantage through quick regain of possession. It was framed as individual talent versus structural strength, with Spain’s “hero” changing each win. The piece linked today’s dominance to the 2010 “golden generation” and Barcelona’s midfields built on shared control rather than solo brilliance.