Spain gave a masterclass to beat France 2-0 and reach the final of the World Cup | World Cup 2026 news

European champions Spain beat France to ensure a place in the final against either Argentina or England.

Spain ended France’s dream of a third World Cup victory, taking control of their squad win 2-0 and go last against England or Argentina.

Didier Deschamps’ men were favorites for the trophy after a series of impressive displays in the United States, but they met their match against the European giants in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for the 2010 champions with a decisive penalty in the first half in Arlington, Texas, and Pedro Porro added to their lead in the second half.

A shell-shocked France was unable to find a way back into the game despite having an attacking economy.

The game at Dallas Stadium caught fire midway through the first half when Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton pointed to a sloppy tackle by French left winger Lucas Digne on Spanish winger Lamine Yamal.

Oyarzabal beat France goalkeeper Mike Maignan for his fifth goal of the World Cup to leave France behind for the first time in the tournament.

A few minutes later there was another problem when defender William Saliba left the field after sustaining a lower leg injury, replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.

Spain came close to extending their lead after a brilliant one-ball but Dayot Upamecano’s challenge denied Fabian Ruiz.

France finished the half without a shot on goal, scoring twice in total.

Deschamps threw on Desire Doue for Bradley Barcola in the 57th minute to add to his attack but just a minute later he was 2-0 down after a surprise goal from Luis de la Fuente’s side.

Defender Porro produced a sharp pass to the feet of Dani Olmo on the edge of the box and collected the rebound before coolly slotting past Maignan.

Deschamps threw on Theo Hernandez and Rayan Cherki after the second break in an attempt to get back into the game.

But France could not find a way back into the game against tough opponents who refused to give up.

Spain have lost only once in the entire tournament, including the steel in defense and the deception of the winner Yamal in attack.

They are now 90 minutes away from winning the first round of the 48-team World Cup as they aim to match what Vicente del Bosque’s side did 16 years ago.

The loss in Texas is a big blow for a French team that has entertained World Cup fans in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

France reached the final of the World Cup, won in 2018 in Russia and lost on penalties to Argentina’s Lionel Messi four years ago in Qatar in the final despite Mbappe scoring a hat-trick.

Real Madrid star Mbappe came close to winning the Ballon d’Or alongside Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.

The defeat came close to a third-place finish for French coach Didier Deschamps, who resigned after the tournament after 14 years in charge.

Meanwhile, Porro told Television Espanola that the victory was “a dream come true”/

“It’s all about the team, I can’t appreciate it, I just want to thank everyone because they played a good game,” he said.

We knew that to reach the final we needed to have the ball. We knew that fighting against their power was very important, and we did that.