European champions Spain defeated France in a controlled game, setting up a final match against Argentina or England.
Published July 14, 2026
Spain ended France’s dreams of winning a third World Cup, taming the team’s forwards with a 2-0 win and a place in the final against England or Argentina.
Didier Deschamps’ side, who were favorites to win the trophy after a series of breathtaking performances in the United States, will now face the sophisticated European champions in the semi-final stage on Tuesday.
In Arlington, Texas, Mikel Oyarzabal took the lead with a strong penalty in the first half, and Pedro Polo doubled the lead in the second half.
Shocked, France could not find a way to get back into the game despite having a rich attacking force.
The match at Dallas Stadium erupted midway through the first half when Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed to the penalty spot after French left-back Lucas Digne made a reckless challenge on Spanish winger Lamine Yamal.
Oyarzabal smashed the ball past French goalkeeper Mike Maignan to score his fifth goal of the World Cup, putting France on the back foot for the first time this tournament.
Minutes later, France suffered another blow when centre-back William Saliba left the pitch with a recurrence of a lower back injury, replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
Spain came close to extending their lead after some spectacular one-touch football, but Dayot Upamecano’s challenge denied Fabian Ruiz.
France ended the first half without a single shot on target, with just two shots on target.
Deschamps strengthened his attack by bringing on Desire Due in place of Bradley Barcola in the 57th minute, but a minute later Luis de la Fuente’s team scored a superb team goal to put them 2-0 down.
Defender Polo played a sharp pass to the feet of Dani Olmo on the edge of the box, collected the return ball and calmly slotted it past Megnan.
Deschamps threw out Theo Hernandez and Rayan Cherki in a desperate attempt to get back into the game after the second rehydration break.
However, France could not find a way back into the match against a solid opponent who did not yield.
Spain have conceded just one goal in the entire tournament, combining solid defense with winger Yamal’s guile in attack.
They are 90 minutes away from winning the World Cup with 48 teams for the first time in history, aiming to match the feat of Vicente del Bosque’s team 16 years ago.
The loss in Texas is a blow to the French team, which has wowed fans at World Cups in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
France have reached the World Cup finals twice before, winning in Russia in 2018 and losing on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in an epic final in Qatar four years ago despite Mbappé’s hat-trick.
Real Madrid forward Mbappe was just one cog in a star-studded attack that included Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and the elegant Michael Oliseh.
This loss meant that France coach Didier Deschamps, who had been in charge for 14 years, will step down after the tournament only for the third-place match.
Meanwhile, Polo told TV Española that the victory was a “dream come true”.
“This is all the team’s responsibility. I can’t take any credit for it. I just congratulate everyone because we played a great game,” he said.
“We knew we needed to hold the ball to get closer to the final. We knew the key was to counter their strengths, and we did that. So I’m really happy.”
