Retiring Zidane, 9-goal thriller: A history of France vs Spain ahead of World Cup semifinal

Whenever it’s Spain and France against one another in a major international tournament, an entertaining high-intensity showdown is bound to happen. The two European nations are set for another blockbuster encounter as a place in the World Cup finals is up for grabs at the Dallas Stadium, on July 14.

The last time runners up France, are looking to play in a third World cup final in 8 years, but against them stand a controlled possession based football playing Spanish side, who won their last and only World Cup back in 2010 and are looking to add one more to their tally this time.

All eyes will be on the rivalry between two completely different statures of world class talent, that is, France’s star striker Kylian Mbappe and Spain’s young prodigy Lamine Yamal. Mbappe, who is having a splendid world cup campaign, has scored 8 goals so far and is sitting level on top in the Golden Boot race with Argentina’s Lionel Messi, while having provided 3 assists also in the process. On the other hand, Yamal, although, has lagged in goal conversion in this tournament, having scored just a single goal, but he has outperformed Mbappe in the dribbles completion stats, having completed 21 in comparison to the Frenchman’s 6, by far the most by any player this tournament. His elite playmaking metrics are what makes him a standout in this Spanish team.

Last time Spain and France met at the World Cup

Prior to their meeting in this high stakes semifinals, Spain and France have clashed only once before in the World Cup, which happened two decades ago, during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The game was a significantly entertaining Round of 16 clash that took place on June 27 in the HDI Arena, Hannover. France won the game 3-1 against the odds favorites Spain, who entered the game undefeated, having won all of their group stage games, while the aging French side just made it to the knockout stages.

France’s Zinedine Zidane announced before the start of the tournament that was going to be his last one, having won one back in 1998. Spanish sports newspaper Marca famously ran a front-page headline reading “We are going to retire Zidane”, but the French had other plans.

David Villa opened the scoring from the spot, striking past Fabian Barthez to give the Spaniards a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute. Les Bleus levelled the game just before the break in the 43rd minute, thanks to a great finish from Franck Ribery.

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In the 82nd minute, Spanish defender Carles Puyol collided with Thierry Henry near the touchline. Henry dropped to the floor holding his face, implying that he had been struck in the head. The referee Roberto Rosetti awarded a free kick to France, from which Patrick Vieira scored and gave France the lead for the first time. Then Zidane had the last say in the 92nd minute when he scored and put the final nail in the coffin. After scoring, Zidane ran towards the corner flag, screaming in celebration, signifying that he wasn’t done yet and there still plenty to play, plenty to achieve.

The game ignited something in the French side, which helped them go all the way to the finals.

Last match between Spain and France outside World Cups

The last time these two top ranked sides faced off, that was certainly a game for the ages. They battled in the UEFA Nations League semifinals on June 5, 2025 at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart, Germany.

The European Champions Spain edged out France in a nine goal thriller. The game was a goalfest and Spain came out on top, winning 5-4.

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Spain built a humongous 5-1 lead by the 67th minute thanks to first half strikes from Nico Williams and Mikel Merino and second half strike from Pedri, and a brace by the teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. France tried to charge a late-game comeback with goals from Rayan Cherki, Randal Kolo Muani, and Ismaël Koné, along with a Kylian Mbappé penalty, though they just fell short of an equalizer and were defeated.

France vs Spain head-to-head

The head-to-head record between these two shows Spain having the upper hand over the two-time World Cup champions, with three wins in the last five meetings.

France vs Spain: Last five meetings

Date

Competition

Result

June 5, 2025

UEFA Nations League Semifinal

Spain won 5-4

July 9, 2024

UEFA Euro Semifinals

Spain Won 2-1

Oct 10, 2021

UEFA Nations League Final

France won 2-1

Mar 28, 2017

International Friendly

Spain won 2-0

Sep 4, 2014

International Friendly

France won 1-0

Written by Madhav Sachdeva, an intern with the online sports desk.