La Furia Roja are in the World Cup final for just the second time in history.
Spain on Tuesday took down France 2-0 in the first semifinal in Dallas Stadium thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro in each half.
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Kylian Mbappe and Co. were stunningly held to a clean sheet despite their blistering attack scoring plenty of goals entering the showdown. Unai Simon and Spain have only conceded one goal this summer, which came in the 2-1 quarterfinal win vs. Belgium.
Both teams put out strong starting lineups, with Spain being unchanged from the quarterfinals and France bringing in Bradley Barcola in attack and Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield.
After a cautious yet aggressive start from both, Spain were awarded a penalty after a foul by left-back Lucas Digne in the 19th minute. Digne caught Lamine Yamal after attempting a clearance but he missed the ball completely, catching the Spanish winger instead.
Digne was not given a yellow card. Left-back was a position of worry for France coming into this matchup given Yamal’s threat.
Striker Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up and drilled it home past goalie Mike Maignan a few minutes later, netting his fifth goal of the 2026 tournament.
It then went from bad to worse for France in a matter of minutes. Star center-back William Saliba went down with what appeared to be a back injury, with Maxence Lacroix coming in in the 30th minute.
Saliba of Premier League champions Arsenal came into the tournament with back issues but played with it. He formed an elite partnership with Dayot Upamecano but couldn’t continue at a crucial time.
The only separator between the two nations at halftime had been the Oyarzabal penalty goal, while Fabian Ruiz came close for Spain on a well-worked tiki-taka move.
At the interval, La Furia Roja had 0.99 expected goals across five shots, per data-tracking platform FotMob. Penalties account for about 0.7. They also had 56% possession of the ball with Rodri dominating the midfield. Les Bleus posted just 0.04 expected goals on only two shots.
Spain then made it 2-0 in the 58th minute as France still couldn’t find any rhythm in attack.
Right-back Pedro Porro started the move in the right half-space by linking up with Dani Olmo. Olmo played it back and Porro slotted it home for a mesmerizing play.
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Yamal later thought he had a third when he got in behind Digne and finished past Maignan, but it was called back for a tight offsides.
Spain held onto win without facing too much threat from France, a shocking narrative turn given how well the attack performed coming into the game. Barcola and Olise came off early for Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki, but the changes made no difference. Ousmane Dembele, the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, played the full game but didn’t add much threat, either.
So, in the first real test France faced after breezing through the tournament, it could not survive at the most vital moment.
La Furia Roja ended the game with 1.63 expected goals across 10 total shots. France had just 0.3 on 10 shots, too. The possession battle ended up slightly evening out, with Spain edging it 51-49 as France got on the ball more.
Mbappe is also 0-6 vs. Yamal in single-elimination matches for both club and country. Yamal and Co. won in the UEFA Euro semifinals in 2024, the Supercopa final, Copa del Rey final and Nations League semifinals in 2025 and the 2026 Supercopa Final. This matchup is the latest triumph for the Spaniard.
Spain will meet either England or Argentina in the final on Sunday. The Three Lions and La Albiceleste will clash in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Les Bleus will await the loser in the third-place game on Saturday. Their bid for a third straight World Cup final appearance also failed. They beat Croatia in the 2018 final before losing to Lionel Messi and Argentina in extra time of the 2022 final.
La Furia Roja last made the final in 2010, when they took down the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time for their first ever win in the tournament.
Manager Luis de la Fuente did not lose a game during the 2024 Euros — that record could continue with another triumph on Sunday.
Spain started the tournament tying to Cape Verde 0-0, which ultimately began the latter nation’s dream run. La Furia Roja then thrashed Saudi Arabia 4-0 before edging Uruguay 1-0 in the group finale.
In the knockout rounds, Spain cruised past Austria 3-0. Mikel Merino then scored late winners to eliminate Portugal 1-0 and Belgium 2-1.
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