Rabat – Spain have qualified for the 2026 World Cup final after defeating France 2-0 in Tuesday’s semifinal at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute before Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage after the break. The victory sent La Roja into the second World Cup final in their history.
Spain received a penalty after Lucas Digne caught Lamine Yamal with a high boot while attempting to clear the ball inside the area.
Oyarzabal stepped forward and struck his effort beyond Mike Maignan, scoring his fifth goal of the tournament and handing France their first deficit of the 2026 World Cup.
France struggled to impose their attacking game despite starting Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola.
Spain controlled long periods of the match through Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo, while their defense restricted France’s opportunities in front of Unai Simon.
Porro scored Spain’s second goal in the 58th minute following a flowing attacking move.
The right-back exchanged passes with Olmo, entered the penalty area and calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner beyond Maignan.
Yamal appeared to make it 3-0 three minutes later with a curling finish, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
France attempted to respond through substitutions, with Didier Deschamps introducing Desire Doue, Rayan Cherki and Theo Hernandez, but Spain protected their advantage and completed the match without conceding.
The result ended France’s hopes of reaching a third successive World Cup final.
Les Bleus won the tournament in 2018 and finished runners-up to Argentina in 2022, but they were unable to recover after falling behind against Spain.
Spain, meanwhile, will return to the World Cup final for the first time since lifting their only title in South Africa in 2010.
Luis de la Fuente’s team will face the winner of Wednesday’s second semifinal between defending champions Argentina and England in Sunday’s final.
