Spain beats France 2-0 to reach first World Cup final since 2010

DALLAS, United States -- Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro gave Spain a 2-0 victory over France in Tuesday's World Cup semifinal, sending La Roja into its first World Cup final since lifting the trophy in 2010.

It was only the second World Cup meeting between the two nations, with France having won the previous one 3-1 in the round of 16 in 2006. It also marked their third consecutive meeting in the semifinals of a major tournament, following Spain's victories at UEFA Euro 2024 and the 2025 Nations League.

Oyarzabal converted a penalty in the 22nd minute after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal in the area.

Digne attempted to clear an awkward bouncing ball, but Yamal, a day after his 19th birthday, darted in from behind. The France defender's clearance caught the Spain forward, sending him to the ground.

France suffered another blow in the 30th minute when injured central defender William Saliba was replaced by Maxence Lacroix. Coach Didier Deschamps made another change at halftime, sending on Manu Kone for Adrien Rabiot, who had been booked in the eighth minute.

Porro doubled Spain's lead in the 58th minute after combining with Dani Olmo before continuing his run into the area and calmly finishing past Mike Maignan.

Yamal thought he had added a third six minutes later after racing onto a through ball, cutting inside Digne and finishing low, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

France's best chance came shortly afterward when Kylian Mbappe's shot from the edge of the area was deflected behind for a corner that failed to produce a meaningful opportunity.

Les Bleus threatened again in the 83rd minute when goalkeeper Unai Simon rushed from his goal to clear the ball, but after it fell to Desire Doue, Simon recovered to deny the forward's attempted lob.

The victory extended Spain's unbeaten run under coach Luis de la Fuente to 37 matches in regulation, the longest in the national team's history. Spain has also scored a tournament-record 13 goals at this World Cup, while its six consecutive World Cup victories matched the mark set during its title-winning run in 2010.

"It's a dream come true. Honestly, not even in my wildest dreams," Porro said. "We knew it was a very tough team, one that had been doing things really well. This is the team's achievement, not mine. Congratulations to everyone because they played a fantastic match."

France substitute Rayan Cherki rued his team's defeat. "It's a disappointment, a huge disappointment, because today we lost against ourselves," he said.

"We were beaten tactically, beaten at the root. Spain played with confidence and played the way it wanted. We didn't play the football we like."

Spain will face either England or Argentina in Sunday's final at New York New Jersey Stadium.