Spain dances past France, reaches second World Cup final

Spain, the reigning Euro champion, advanced to the 2026 World Cup final with a decisive victory over France on Tuesday in Arlington, near Dallas, and will face the winner of the match between Argentina and England, scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta, on Sunday.

With an extraordinary defensive performance that completely neutralized the powerful and feared French attack, which had dazzled throughout the tournament but failed to register a single shot on goal against Unai Simón, Spain secured the victory thanks to goals by Mikel Oyarzabal (22', on a penalty kick) and Pedro Porro (58'), as well as a spectacular display by the midfield trio of Rodri Hernández, Fabián Ruíz, and Dani Olmo, one of the standout players of the match.

This is Oyarzabal's fifth goal of the tournament, tying the record for the most goals scored by a Spanish player in a World Cup, a record he now shares with Emilio Butragueño (Mexico 1986) and David Villa (South Africa 2010).

It is also Spain's third consecutive victory over France, following the semifinals of Euro 2024 (2-1) and last year's Nations League (5-4). In all three matches, including today's, Coach Luis De La Fuente's team thoroughly dominated the French side, which has struggled greatly against La Furia Roja and its passing game, slow tempo, and constant combinations and shifts.

Mistakes come at a high price

At this stage of the competition, any mistake comes at a high price, and French fullback Lucas Digne learned that the hard way. After a few tentative opening minutes for both teams, Digne tried to control a cross from Marc Cucurella on the left, unaware that Lamine Yamal was coming up behind him. Instead of the ball, he kicked the Spanish winger.

Penalty for Spain and Mikel Oyarzabal, a consummate specialist from the penalty spot, converted the opener.

For the first time in the tournament, France found itself trailing and was forced to step up to equalize. Shortly after, it also lost its best defender, William Saliba, to a muscle injury.

France felt the double blow and came very close to conceding a second goal before halftime. In La Roja's best attacking play, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo played a give-and-go on the edge of the box, and Dayot Upamecano got a toe on the ball to prevent Fabián Ruiz from getting a shot off on the winger's cross.

Spain did a great job in the first half of containing France's four attacking players, who had dazzled so far in the tournament: Barcola was the most active at times, Mbappé made a few runs, and both Olise and Dembélé saw very little action. But there were still at least another 45 minutes to go.

Porro on a scoring spree; Mbappé overshadowed

The second half began in the same vein. Deschamps' first substitutions (Koné and Doué for Tchouaméni and Barcola) didn't have the desired effect. Spain sealed the victory with another give-and-go from Dani Olmo, this time with Pedro Porro, and the Tottenham fullback beat Maignan one-on-one (58').

France was forced to take risks, and Mbappé tried to carry the team on his back. In the 65th minute, he took the first shot on target for the Bleus. Simón deflected it for a corner (it wasn't recorded as a shot on goal in the official statistics), and three minutes later, he tried again from the edge of the box, but the ball hit Cucurella and went out of bounds.

But by the time the captain of the Bleus tried to rouse his team, it was already too late. The Spanish fans were already celebrating their spot in the final, shouting "Olé, olé!" with every pass by La Roja. The match's summary was perfectly encapsulated in the closing moments: with Spain passing the ball around and making France run, Mbappé, in a fit of frustration, went after Unai Simón, who was trying to waste a little time. The Real Madrid player, without even going for the ball, kicked the Spanish goalkeeper, earning himself a card and boos from Spanish fans.

Anatomy of a Historic Spanish finalist

With the victory, Spain qualified for the second World Cup final in its history. The first one resulted in the only star La Roja wears, thanks to Andrés Iniesta's memorable goal in the 116th minute (in extra time) against the Netherlands at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In fact, La Roja's run in this World Cup bears many similarities to that of 16 years ago: an initial setback (a 1-0 loss to Switzerland back then, compared to a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in this tournament) followed by steady improvement throughout the tournament, thanks to ball possession and a strong defense (only one goal conceded in the entire tournament, in the quarterfinals against Belgium).

However, unlike that time, Spain has made significant changes to its starting lineup. For example, Fabián Ruíz and Dani Olmo earned starting spots as the tournament progressed, and today both are indispensable, even though players of the caliber of Mikel Merino and Pedri are on the bench.

Likewise, the Spanish star Lamine Yamal, who was key to his team's victory today by earning a penalty in the first half, has been improving his physical condition and is aiming for the final with all his might. Today, although he didn't score, he produced 4–5 phenomenal plays, including a disallowed goal, several give-and-goes, and some dribbles past Digne and Theo Hernández.

The confirmed match for Spain is on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, on the outskirts of New York, where the red-and-white team will have the chance to earn a second star on their jersey.

France, on the other hand, is heading home disappointed after intimidating the world with a performance worse than in Qatar 2022, when they lost the final to Argentina, and in 2018, when they won the title. The French are also likely to see their longtime head coach, Didier Deschamps, leave the national team after 14 years at the helm. Zinedine Zidane is one of the men in the running to take the reins of Les Bleus.

Spain now just has to wait for either Argentina or England. The former is one of the best teams in the history of national soccer teams, having won the last four titles it competed for (two Copa América titles, one World Cup, and one final) and the second is a familiar face who already triumphed in the final of the last Euro.

With information from AFP