France and Spain will face each other in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup
Today, 14 July, Dallas will host the first semi-final of the 2026 World Cup, in which France and Spain will face each other. The match is scheduled to kick off at 22:00 Kyiv time.
The teams have played 38 official and friendly matches against each other. Spain holds the upper hand in their head-to-head record, having secured 18 victories. France have won 13 matches, whilst a further seven matches ended in a draw. The goal difference also favours the Spaniards, 71 to 44, according to the AP.
However, in matches played in official tournaments, France has the better record. Of the 12 such encounters, the French team have won six, with two more ending in draws, whilst Spain have won four times.
At this World Cup, neither team has conceded a goal so far. France, who began the tournament as the top-ranked team in the FIFA rankings, have scored 14 goals and conceded two.
Kylian Mbappé has scored eight goals, drawing level with Lionel Messi on the list of top scorers in this tournament. The French striker has also now scored 20 goals in 20 World Cup matches.
France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said: “We are confident after the journey we have already been on. But at the same time, we are maintaining the humility that has characterised us since the start of the tournament.”
France’s head coach, Didier Deschamps, has confirmed that Kylian Mbappé is fully fit for the semi-final after being substituted in the quarter-final against Morocco.
In the Spanish squad, all eyes are on Lamine Yamal, who celebrated his 19th birthday on 13 July. Ahead of the semi-final, he said: “I think that if France have anyone to fear, it’s us. We’re the ones who’ve knocked them out before.”
Yamal later noted that the upcoming match would be the most important of his career, and that the best birthday present would be a victory and a place in the final.
France defender Jules Koundé, who plays alongside Yamal at Barcelona, said he did not take his team-mate’s words as a sign of disrespect.
After a goalless draw with Cape Verde at the start of the tournament, Spain went on to win all their subsequent matches. The team have scored ten goals and conceded just one. Goalkeeper Unai Simón set a World Cup record by keeping a clean sheet for 650 minutes, until Belgium scored in the quarter-finals.
For France, this is their seventh World Cup semi-final and their fifth in the last eight tournaments. Spain had previously reached the semi-finals only twice, in 1950 and 2010, when they went on to win their only World Cup title.
The only previous meeting between France and Spain at a World Cup took place in 2006 in the round of 16. On that occasion, the French won 3–1.
