Spain beat France to become the first team to reach the final of the 2026 World Cup
The Spanish national team became the first finalist of the 2026 World Cup after defeating France in the semi-final. The match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, USA, ended 2–0.
The Spanish side opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty awarded by the referee following a foul by Lucas Digne on Lamine Yamal inside the penalty area.
In the 30th minute, France lost centre-back William Saliba to injury. Maxence Lacroix came on in his place.
After the break, Luis de la Fuente’s side doubled their lead. In the 58th minute, Pedro Porro, following a one-two with Dani Olmo, found the back of Mike Maignan’s net with a shot into the near corner.
Three minutes later, Lamine Yamal scored another goal following a pass from Pau Kubarsi, but the referee ruled it offside and disallowed the goal.
Didier Deschamps’ side were unable to reduce the deficit before the final whistle. As a result, Spain secured victory and progressed to the World Cup final.
For the Spanish national team, this will be their second World Cup final in history. The team first reached the tournament’s final in 2010, when they beat the Netherlands 1–0 to become world champions.
In the 2026 World Cup final, Spain will face the winner of the second semi-final, which will be contested by England and Argentina on 15 July.
The final will take place on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The night before, on the eve of 19 July, France will play the third-place play-off against the losing team from the England v Argentina semi-final.
