Spain storm the French fortress

Bastille Day and, well, it was Spain who stormed past France to earn their slot in the World Cup final with a 2-0 win on Tuesday night. Keith Duggan was in Texas to witness them toy with and frustrate a French side that lost “the regal assurance with which they advanced to this point”. They were “outplayed and out-thought”, France “banished with an ease that left Didier Deschamps red-faced and baffled”.

The Spanish can now rest their weary feet and do a bit of prep for Sunday’s final by tuning in to this evening’s England v Argentina encounter, one of the great footballing rivalries, as Jonathan Liew reminds us.

“Yes, England have the speed and the strength . . . but Argentina have Messi,” writes Ken Early in his preview of the game. He was a “no-show” against Switzerland - Messi, not Ken - but “you are reluctant to bet against him finding a little bit more in the tank”.

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Question of the day: The last time England and Argentina met in the World Cup, in 2002, the game was decided by a David Beckham penalty that was conceded by a player who managed another nation at this year’s tournament. Name him.

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Spain, of course, ended Cristiano Ronaldo (and Portugal’s) World Cup journey in the round of sixteen. David Gorman contrasts Ronaldo’s dying-of-the-light struggles with that of Novak Djokovic who appears considerably more at peace with the ageing process.

Back home, Gavin Cummiskey was at Tallaght Stadium to see Shamrock Rovers - with Pico Lopes back on duty - advance in the Champions League qualifying phase with a handsome 5-1 second leg win over Malta’s Floriana.

Ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling final, Gordon Manning talks to Limerick manager John Kiely about the 2026 roadmap he created as he attempted to “deconstruct” a season that ended with that shock quarter-final defeat by Dublin. The fact that they’re back in the final suggests that the roadmap did the trick.

Standing between his team and their sixth title in nine years is a “reinvented” Galway side, Kevin Egan hearing from their manager Micheál Donoghue, while Seán Moran reflects on his time covering “32 All-Irelands from the crow’s nest”.

In his column, Darragh Ó Sé looks back at the football semi-finals, Ger Brennan left “sore” after “a couple of decisions” went against his Dublin side in their defeat by Kerry. “He had every right to be,” says Darragh, “but I didn’t hear him calling for video technology a fortnight ago when John Maher got the head taken off him for Galway against Dublin”.

Performance analyst Paul O’Brien turns his microscope on that game, reckoning that the Dubs asked all the right questions, only for Kerry to find all the answers.

In golf, Philip Reid and Gavin Cooney continue the build-up to the British Open, Philip finding Rory McIlroy in relaxed form ahead of his attempt to collect the second Claret Jug of his career, Shane Lowry hoping to “rediscover the mojo of the early part of the season” to achieve the same feat.

And Gavin looks at the efforts to stamp out unruly behaviour from spectators this week. “That the R&A now have to legislate for decency is emblematic of something gone badly awry,” he writes.

In rugby, Gordon D’Arcy looks ahead to Ireland’s Nations Championship meeting with New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday, while Gerry Thornley talks to two of Ireland’s Kiwis, Jamison Gibson-Park and backs coach Andrew Goodman, both of whom “get this whole Eden Park thing”.

In Athletics, Ian O’Riordan hears from Kate O’Connor as she prepares for her third Commonwealth Games, and in racing, Brian O’Connor looks at Jim Bolger’s chances of yet more Classic success when his unbeaten Sparan Nua takes on the Irish Oaks on Saturday.

TV Watch: There’s more from the build-up to the British Open on Sky Sports Golf through the day (from 9am), while TNT Sports (12.30pm) and TG4 (2pm) will have stage 11 of the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar looking good for his fifth title after extending his overall lead by winning yesterday’s stage. Anything else? Oh yeah - there a football match between England and Argentina at 8pm (RTÉ 2 and BBC1).

Answer: United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino - he upended Michael Owen to concede the penalty.