Clinical Spain down toothless France 2-0 to enter final | FIFA World Cup 2026

 There was no repeat of the Kylian Mbappe magic from the final against Argentina four years ago in Qatar as Spain completely outplayed France in the semifinal of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Dallas Stadium today to book a berth in the final – their first since 2010, when they won the title.

A goal in each half from Spain’s striker Mikel Oyarzabal and defender Pedro Porro respectively brought back memories of the 2022 World Cup final when France bounced back from a two-goal deficit to tie the match at 3-3 and take it to the penalties, where they eventually lost.

But it was not to be, as Spain stamped their authority from the word go till the final whistle, keeping France’s impressive array of attacking talent at bay. That the Les Bleus had only two shots on target in the whole match, summed up a disappointing night for Mbappe and co.

Despite the wealth of talent in Spanish ranks, France had their noses ahead before the match going by the current form. But La Roja were in control from the start, seeing more of the ball in the early exchanges. France were happy to hold their shape till there was a clear opening to launch the press. In the sixth minute, Bradley Barcola had an opportunity to get Porro booked after the Spanish defender slid in. But the French winger decided to stay on his feet and keep the attack going to win a corner. Nothing came from it though.

Adrien Rabiot soon earned the game’s first yellow card for stamping on Dani Olmo’s foot. Michael Olise, on the other hand, was lucky to avoid a card after a rash challenge on Rodri. However, France started to get back into the game and were almost starting to look the better team, when left-back Lucas Digne misjudged his clearance off a harmless-looking Spain cross around the 20th minute. As he lashed at the dropping ball, Lamine Yamal snuck in behind and took the kick to win a penalty. Oyarzabal converted it comfortably to put Spain ahead in the 22nd minute.

It was the first time France had been behind at this World Cup and they soon lost centre-back William Saliba to injury. They did not react well to the twin setbacks, losing grip on the match. They seemed too hurried with their passes and kept making the wrong choices in key moments to squander opportunities to craft or sustain promising attacks. A 38th minute mistake by goalkeeper Mike Maignan led to another Spain chance. Once the ball broke to them, La Roja worked it beautifully to put Yamal in a position to cross. Those in blue were relieved to see it go wide.

In the 42nd minute, a French chance was thwarted by brilliant goalkeeping by Unai Simon. With Mbappe through, the Spanish keeper had to be sharp to get there first. Rabiot was fortunate not to get a second yellow. France coach Didier Deschamps reacted by taking off Rabiot to bring on Manu Kone at half time. Desire Doue, too, came on soon after for Barcola. But, it changed nothing for Les Bleus.

A combination of beautiful play by Spain and poor tracking by substitute Kone saw Porro through on goal and he made no mistake with the finish to put Spain 2-0 up in the 58th minute. France struggled to create clear chances despite the individual quality at their disposal. Spain played with higher intensity and looked to have sealed the result when Yamal finished well after running off Digne, but he was ruled off-side.

France largely looked like a shadow of the team which had dazzled earlier in the tournament. They tried to claw their way back into the match after the second hydration break, bringing on Rayan Cherki for the underwhelming Olise and the pacey Theo Hernandez for Digne to better deal with Yamal. Cherki arguably should have been brought on earlier to try and get more control in the midfield.

These changes, too, did not make much difference as France failed to carve out a real chance and allowed Spain to find substitute Ferran Torres in the box with a cross. He headed wide. Pedri and super-sub Mikel Merino were brought on to gave Spain the impetus in the middle, but France managed to prevent more humiliation.

Even into the final minutes, France’s best chance had come from a Jules Kounde cross in first-half stoppage time.

When Mbappe curled a free-kick over the bar in the 89th minute, it began to sink in for the French. This was simply not their day. In stoppage time, France finally created a few dangerous situations, with Cherki featuring prominently in the buildup. But the Spanish defence, supported well by their midfielders and attackers, stood strong, as they have all tournament, to see out an impressive win.