Les Bleus’ hopes of making a third straight World Cup final were dashed in Dallas as Spain overcame France 2-0 to secure their spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
La Roja advanced to Sunday’s championship final, where they will play either Argentina or England, thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.
Despite making a few chances, France, headed by Golden Boot contender Kylian Mbappe, had a hard time breaking through Spain’s well-organized and disciplined side.
After Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal inside the penalty area in the 22nd minute and the referee pointed immediately to the spot. The breakthrough occurred when Oyarzabal converted calmly from 12 yards, sending Mike Maignan the proper direction but placing his effort perfectly into the top corner.
Dani Olmo controlled the game in the middle of the lines while France struggled to establish any rhythm, while Spain maintained possession thanks to Rodri and Fabian Ruiz.
The Gunners defender William Saliba was forced off due to injury midway in the first half and was replaced by Maxence Lacroix.
Spain maintained control despite sporadic glimpses of peril from Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, and Mbappe, due to the outstanding play of goalkeeper Unai Simon and full-back Pedro Porro in large parts of the game.
To inject more energy into midfield, France’s coach, Didier Deschamps, made an early tactical change at halftime, substituting Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot, who had been booked.
But Spain extended their lead to 2-0 thanks to the brilliant Porro in the 58th minute.
The Tottenham defender went on his run into the penalty area unnoticed by the French defense after trading passes with Dani Olmo, calmly guiding the loose ball past Maignan to make it 2-0.
France made a desperate attempt to rejoin the game by using further attacking replacements, with Theo Hernandez and Rayan Cherki.
Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte, however, led Spain’s defense, which held strong to maintain another clean-sheet performance against one of the tournament’s most lethal attacks.
As Spain continues to seek their second World Cup title after their win in 2010, the victory sends them into the championship final for the second time in their history.
Despite France being one of the favourites to win the World Cup, this defeat puts an end to yet another outstanding tournament run.
With the World Cup title set to be decided on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Spain will now wait for the victor of Wednesday’s second semi-final between Argentina and England.
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