France’s second half substitute Marie-Antoinette Katoto had her 76th minute effort from the spot brilliantly saved by the Spanish goalkeeper, 17-year-old Catalina Coll after Spain centre-back Laia Aleixandri was adjudged to have handled the ball in her own box.

And try as they might to the end of a match at the Stade de la Rabine in Vannes that had six minutes of injury time,  Les Bleuettes - who had earlier beaten defending champions North Korea, their victors in the final two years ago - could not prevent their opponents from going forward to meet Japan on Friday (August 24). 

The closely fought match had come to life in the second-half, with the European under-19 champions taking the lead following a throw-in deep in the France half on 51 minutes.

Lucia Rodriguez’s cross from the right found the head of Patri Guijarro, who nodded home for her tournament-leading sixth goal of France 2018.

The goal raised the tempo of this semi-final contest even further, with the first red card of the competition coming just past the midway point of the second half. 

Spain’s Aitana Bonmati was shown a second yellow card for her challenge on Selma Bacha at the halfway line.

Earlier in the day Futoshi Ikeda’s Japan had earned their first appearance in the final of this competition through a 2-0 win over England, having beaten three-times champions Germany in their quarter-final.

Third when hosting in 2012, plus in the last tournament two years ago, Japan are now on the brink of history thanks to firrst-half goals by Riko Ueki and Jun Endo.

The third-place match between France and England will take place before the final at the Stade de la Rabine.