Arlington: Spain reached the FIFA World Cup 2026 final with a 2-0 victory over France at Dallas Stadium on Wednesday, goals coming from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.
The win ends France’s run in the tournament and hands Spain a place in the final at New Jersey Stadium, where they will face the winner of the England–Argentina semi-final. Spain’s previous win in a World Cup final came in 2010, when Andres Iniesta scored against the Netherlands.
France suffered their fourth World Cup semi-final defeat (1958, 1982, 1986, 2026) in eight semi-final appearances, and for the third consecutive major semi-final they were eliminated by Spain, after Euro 2024 (2-1) and the 2025 Nations League (5-4). It was also France’s first knockout loss at a World Cup since the 2014 quarter-final defeat to Germany.
The match’s opening opportunity fell to Spain’s 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, who was fouled inside the box after reaching the ball before Lucas Digne. Oyarzabal converted the resultant penalty, beating goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Spain doubled their lead when Porro combined with Dani Olmo, took the return and finished into the bottom corner.
France pressed in search of a response, introducing Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki, but Spain defended resolutely. Goalkeeper Unai Simon swept behind his back line when required, and Marc Cucurella produced a critical challenge to deny Kylian Mbappe.
The final whistle brought jubilation for Spain and disappointment for Didier Deschamps’s side, who will contest the third-place match on Saturday; Mbappe remains in contention for the Golden Boot. Spain kept their sixth clean sheet in seven tournament games and have conceded just two goals in North America.
(Inputs from IANS)