Spain end France's bid for 3rd-straight WC final

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ESPN News Services

Jul 14, 2026, 05:00 PM ET

In the end, the third time was not a charm for France.

Spain beat France 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday to make it three wins in a row against their European heavyweight rival having beaten Les Bleus in the 2024 European Championship semifinals and the UEFA Nations League semifinals in 2025.

The win for Luis de la Fuente's side also ended France's dream of returning to the World Cup final for a third consecutive tournament -- a feat achieved only by West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and Brazil from 1994 to 2002.

A first-half penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and an early second-half strike by Pedro Porro staked Spain to a 2-0 lead as they played a near-perfect match against France to advance to a final against England or Argentina on July 19 in East Rutherford.

"We gave it our all in order just to go through to the final," Porro said after the game. "We knew that we're a very tough team, we're doing things really well. This is our team, it's not about me."

Trailing 1-0 at Dallas Stadium after Oyarzabal converted a penalty following a foul on Lamine Yamal in the area, France took another hit when center back William Saliba was forced off with a back injury in the 30th minute and replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.

The European Champions looked like a well-oiled machine as they were strong in possession of the ball and did a great job of limiting the impact of France stars Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé to take a 1-0 lead into the break.

Spain's metronome throughout the game was central defender Rodri, who made decisive interventions and diffused threats from France, while always being steady on the ball in the middle of the field.

"It was a collective effort of everyone. Today we did best our best performance of the World Cup so far," Rodri said after the game. "France is a very strong team and can punish you everywhere. But everyone [on Spain] rose to the level.

"I said it before. We are showing the character of being mature in big moments and this was the most important moment to wait for. Because in the big moments [France] will punish you, so the composure was the key."

France were up against history as they returned for the second half with only two teams having ever advanced in a World Cup semifinal after trailing at halftime: Argentina vs. Italy in 1990 and Croatia overcoming England in 2018.

Deschamps rang the changes at halftime, bringing on Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot to star the second half and Désiré Doué for Bradley Barcola soon after that.

Despite the new faces, it was the same story for France, who continued to be frustrated by Spain's pressing all over the field and by some key saves from Unai Simón in the La Roja net.

Bad went to worse for France when Porro broke free of his marker on a smooth team move from Spain and finished past Mike Maignan to make it 2-0.

The loss means the end of the line for Mbappé, who is level with with Lionel Messi on eight goals in the race for the Golden Boot. Harry Kane has six goals and can still add to his tally, as can Messi in Wednesday's other semifinal.

The frustration seemed to boil over for Mbappé in the 86th minute when he rushed toward Simón just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Simón to the grass and earning the Real Madrid striker a yellow card.

Spain were able to see out the win and draw level with Italy for the most consecutive games without a loss at 37 and the nation's second trip to a World Cup final to boot.

"It means a lot, because we have only been [to the final] twice in our history so we want to win the World Cup," Rodri added. "We need to rest now and see what we can improve because we want to win the next one."

Deschamps and France will play in the third-place game in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, against the loser of Wednesday's semifinal between England and Argentina.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Global Research was used in this report.