2-0 victory
Spain smash France to reach 2026 World Cup final – Can Argentina or England stop La Roja?
©IMAGO
France will not reach their third World Cup final in a row. On Tuesday, France lost 2-0 to European Championship winners Spain (2-0) thanks to goals by Mikel Oyarzabal (22’ pen.) and Pedro Porro (58’). Although France are still going to play in the third-place final, the game marks the end of the Didier Deschamps era, as Zinédine Zidane will take over after the tournament.
Club Comparison
France
Spain
UEFA Nations League A
UEFA Nations League A
€1.52bn
Market Value
€1.22bn
National Team
League Level
National Team
0
Expenditures 26/27
0
Didier Deschamps
Managers
Luis de la Fuente
Full Club Comparison
For Spain, in the meantime, it is the second final in as many tournaments. Spain, in fact, beat France two years ago in Munich (2-1) to reach the final of the 2024 European Championships, where they would go on to beat England (2-1) in Berlin. A repeat of that final is possible as England face Argentina in the second semifinal tomorrow in Atlanta.
France could have been just the third team in tournament history to reach the final in three consecutive tournaments in a row. The only other countries that managed this were Germany (1982 to 1990) and Brazil (1994 to 2002). For Spain, in the meantime, it was just the second semifinal in World Cup history. That was in 2010 when Spain also won the tournament, beating the Netherlands (1-0 a.e.t.).
World Cup
All winners at a glance
2026 World Cup final – Will history repeat itself?
There is a chance that history could now repeat itself. Like in 2010, Spain have been a defensive machine at this tournament. La Roja have conceded just once at the 2026 tournament; that’s one fewer goal than in 2010, when they conceded twice. A remarkable accomplishment, given that this tournament has one extra game. Indeed, the only team to beat Spain's Unai Simón at this tournament were Belgium.
Stats
U. Simón
Goalkeeper
Spain
7
1
6
The question then is: can anyone beat this Spanish machine? France were headed into the fixture as the clear favourites by many. But Kylian Mbappé & Co. were never a good match for Spain’s structured play. Indeed, that could also be a massive issue for whoever comes out victorious tomorrow. Both Argentina and England have largely relied on individual brilliance from Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham. Indeed, the stars have carried much of the headlines, but France have now learned the hard way that this is still a team sport.
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