France 0-2 Spain
Spain are through to the World Cup 2026 final following a dominant display over France on a steamy night in Dallas.
Les Bleus, so impressive so far in the tournament, were nullified by an excellent Spain effort and now must contend with a third-place play-off, while La Roja can look forward to a final against either England or Argentina.
A Mikel Oyarzabal penalty gave Spain a lead on 22 minutes and early in the second half Pedro Porro made it two and France had no reply. This is the game that the World Cup 2026 betting odds said the champions would emerge from and Les Bleus and la Roja put on a decent show, but I was totally controlled by Luis de la Fuente’s side who have the chance to show again what they can do in a showcase final.
Highlights of the game
Lamine Yamal was in my SBOTOP pick of the best young players at the tournament and, after a cagey first 20 minutes he was the man who created the first big World Cup 2026 highlight of the game…and a huge moment. France defender Lucas Digne didn’t see the 19-year-old fly into the penalty area and as the defender cleared the ball, he also wiped out Yamal, giving the referee, Ivan Barton, no choice but the point at the penalty spot. Real Sociedad man Oyarzabal took the ball in his hands and, when the time came, he struck an unstoppable penalty beyond Mike Maignan and into the corner of the net.
France were behind for the first time in the competition as they headed into the first half drinks break, with work to do.
But for the remainder of the first half Les Bleus looked ragged and Spain almost scored a second when Yamal and Dani Olmo swapped passes to cut the France defence apart, but the final touch just wasn’t there. At the other end of the pitch Unai Simon was quick off his line to beat Kylian Mbappe to the ball and keep the score at 1-0 to Spain at the break.
France had been lacklustre in the first half with no answer to Spain’s midfield supremacy and they were undone again on 58 minutes. And it was a sublime pass from Dani Olmo which put Porro in on goal and he waited for Maignan to commit before sliding the ball home.
La Roja had the game ion their pockets and Yamal was so close to making it three before the second-half drinks (advertisement) break. Les Bleus had 20 minutes to save their tournament.
Still nothing from Didier Deschamps’ men as Ferran Torres, on for Oyarzabal, nodded wide for Spain on 78, and when France substitute Désiré Doué chipped weakly on 82 Les Bleus looked forlorn…it was their first shot on target, and it hardly troubled Simon. Minutes later Mbappe, totally frustrated, clattered into the Spain keeper and earned a booking. And when the France skipper had a free-kick chance on 88 minutes his effort was as awful as his team’s performance… totally outplayed by worthy winners Spain.
Key statistics
Spain’s midfield and defence have been near perfect so far, with only Belgium’s Charles de Ketelaere breaching La Roja’s rearguard, while France have conceded just twice. And the first half reflected those stats pretty clearly as Oyarzabal’s spot kick separated the two nations. La Roja dominated first-half possession and had five shots to France’s two and one to nil on target and while les Bleus came back a little in the second half, after Porro’s second the damage was done.
La Roja won the last two meetings with France, including a 5-4 Nations League win and a 2-1 triumph at the 2024 Euro Championships as Yamal and Olmo scored to take Spain to the final and it seems they still have their neighbours under their thumb.
What’s next?
The final beckons for Spain while France will have to settle for the third-place play-off. On Wednesday afternoon England take on the reigning champions, Argentina for the right to meet tonight’s victors and the atmosphere at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will be bristling for the clash of two old rivals. Lionel Messi is aiming to lead the Albiceleste to a successful title defence, but they will start as very slight underdogs against an England team which has shown serious fight in recent matches and has its injury problems easing with Nico O’Reilly and Declan Rice both set to start.
The race for the Golden Boot could take another twist with both Messi and Harry Kane gunning for goals so we’re surely in for another cracker, and I’ll be back tomorrow with my report to share my thoughts on all the action.
But tonight belongs to Spain who have justified their status as pre-tournament favourites.
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