World Cup 2026: Spain eliminates France and advances to the final (2-0)

Porro doubles the lead, powerless Mbappé, Les Bleus to play for third place

World Cup 2026 14 July 2026 at 16:59

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World Cup 2026: Spain eliminates France and advances to the final (2-0)

14.07.26 FT World Cup

France

Spain

Beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup, France sees its dream of a third consecutive final slip away and will now play for third place.

Trailing from the first half after conceding a penalty, Les Bleus continued to struggle up to halftime. In the 38th minute, a poor clearance from Mike Maignan handed Spain a golden opportunity, with Lamine Yamal setting up Mikel Oyarzabal, whose effort missed the target by inches. Lacking pace and solutions, France went into the break clearly outplayed.

Spanish second goal buries French hopes

Right at the start of the second half, Didier Deschamps tried to shake things up, bringing on Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot, who was at risk of being sent off. However, Spain quickly doubled their lead in the 57th minute with a superb team move between Pedro Porro and Dani Olmo, the former beating Maignan with a precise strike. Just minutes later, Yamal even thought he'd scored a third, only to be flagged offside.

French fightback comes too late

Nonetheless, Kylian Mbappé tried to revive his team in the 67th minute, his powerful shot denied at the last second by Marc Cucurella. Despite the introductions of Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki, the French attack never managed to break through a flawlessly organized Spanish defense. Frustrated by a difficult evening, the French captain was even shown a yellow card late in the match.

After this resounding defeat, France will now have to settle for the third-place playoff, while Spain awaits its opponent in the final, either Argentina or England, who face off in the other semi-final.