Pedro Porro turned his goal celebration into a special family moment after helping Spain reach the FIFA World Cup final with a 2-0 win over France.
The Spain right back scored his team’s second goal in the semifinal and then copied the celebration of his young son, who could not attend the match because he was unwell.
After finding the net, Porro sat on the pitch and raised his fist. It was the same celebration his nearly one year old son, Pedrito, does whenever his mother asks how his father celebrates a goal.
Porro later revealed that his son stayed behind at the hotel with his grandmother because he had a fever.
“My mother didn’t come because my little one had a fever,” Porro said.
“It’s normal. It could be teething, growing pains or any number of things. I decided he should stay at the hotel. Everything’s fine, though. I gave him a little wave, and hopefully he’ll be feeling a bit better tomorrow.”
The goal completed a memorable day for the Tottenham defender.
Only a day before the semifinal, Porro had told reporters that he hoped the match would belong to teenage star Lamine Yamal. Instead, he became one of Spain’s heroes with a fine finish after a neat one two move with Dani Olmo.
“It was a move where I cut inside. I saw Dani was being marked quite tightly, but I knew that if I played the ball to him, he could return it first time,” Porro said.
“I played that one two that no defender expects and found myself one on one with the goalkeeper. I kept my cool, just like when I used to play on the wing, and slotted it into the near post. I’m really happy.”
The goal was Porro’s second at a FIFA World Cup. That matched the record for a Spain defender set by Fernando Hierro.
Still, the defender preferred to focus on the team’s success rather than his own achievement.
“I’m very happy about that statistic, but I think the victory belongs to the team,” he said.
“The victory belongs to the 26 of us, to the coaching staff, to everyone supporting us back home and to everyone here cheering us on. I’d like to dedicate it to all of them. It’s not easy for all the families who’ve come all the way here.”
Spain also produced one of their best defensive displays of the tournament. They kept Kylian Mbappe quiet and stopped the dangerous France attack from making an impact.
“We knew that neutralising their strengths was important for us,” Porro said.
“I think we all played a very disciplined game from start to finish. It was a real treat to watch the team compete, and I’d like to congratulate everyone. I think it was a very good performance.”
Spain will now play in the World Cup final as they look to lift the trophy after an impressive run through the tournament.
