Spain defeated France and reached the 2026 World Cup final
At the Dallas Stadium, Spain made France look like an earthly team. Spain is the first World Cup finalist thanks to the goals of Oyarzabal and Porro
Spain and France met at the Dallas Stadium in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup. The Spanish team defeated France 2-0 with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. Luis de la Fuente's team dominated the game from start to finish. Spain registers its name in the 2026 World Cup final.
The Spanish team completely dominated the match at Dallas Stadium. The Spanish victory was never in question during the match. Spain controlled the feared French team that had scored in every World Cup match.
Spain reaches the second final in its history in a World Cup. “La Roja” now waits for its rival. England and Argentina will define the second finalist. Spain will be present at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19.
Once initial from Spain: Unai Simón, Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Álex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Once initial from France: Mike Maignan, Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Kylian Mbappé.
In the first minutes of the match, both teams executed their expected plan. Spain maintained possession of the ball and, with well-crafted plays, tried to reach the rival area. France, with a more vertical philosophy, reached the Spanish area with few passes.
The initial minutes were a lot of study. No team reached three-quarters of the field with criteria. However, an error by Lucas Digne would change the script of the match.
The Aston Villa full-back tried to clear the ball after a cross from the left side. Digne headed to the side and when he tried to clear with his foot he did not realize that Lamine Yamal arrived to anticipate it. This made Digne naively commit a penalty.
The maximum penalty was executed by Mikel Oyarzabal. The Real Sociedad forward kicked confidently to his right and Mike Maignan was unable to stop the shot. This was Oyarzabal's fifth goal in the 2026 World Cup and the goal represented the first time in the World Cup that France was behind on the scoreboard.
The bad news continued for France 30 minutes into the first half. William Saliba, Arsenal defender and France's first centre-back, was injured. Maxence Lacroix took his place.
The Spanish team took advantage of its moment in the match. Those led by Luis de la Fuente continued with their high pressure that promoted errors at the start of France. Spain took very good advantage of the moments of adjustment and coupling of the French defense before the substitution of Saliba.
Second time in Dallas
For the second half Didier Deschamps decided to remove Adrien Rabiot from the game. The AC Milan player had yellow and was replaced by Manu Koné, a midfielder who plays for Roma.
In the 58th minute Spain's second goal would come. Luis de la Fuente's team continued to do their thing with their possession and ball circulation. Pedro Porro went up to attack and, with a great wall with Dani Olmo, the Tottenham full-back received to define the one-on-one with Mike Maignan without any pressure. Spain won 2-0.
The French team looked completely disorganized and frustrated for not being able to overcome the Spanish defensive block. The midfield was lacking ideas and the trident of Mbappé, Dembélé and Olise could not win any head-to-head against rival footballers.
France, in the midst of the need to seek the discount, could not have the ball and find spaces in attack. An example of France's lack of ideas was seen in a clear goal play that was only promoted by an error by Unaí Simón in the goal. The goalkeeper came out to cut a ball outside the area, the ball was left to Désiré Doué, but the PSG footballer was not able to finish into a completely unprotected goal.