France 0–2 Spain: Fifa World Cup 2026 Semi-Final Report

Spain's Defensive Wall Ends France's Run

Billed as the final before the final, this semi-final between the World Cup's most in-form attack and its meanest defence never developed into the shootout many expected. Instead, Luis de la Fuente's Spain suffocated France from the opening whistle, closing passing lanes and denying Didier Deschamps' side any early rhythm — France managed just one shot, off target, in the first 25 minutes. The breakthrough came just past the half-hour mark: Lamine Yamal, one day removed from his 19th birthday, darted into the box and was clipped by Lucas Digne as the French full-back tried to head the ball clear. Referee Iván Barton pointed to the spot without hesitation, and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Mike Maignan the wrong way to make it his tournament-leading fifth goal.

France's afternoon worsened moments later when William Saliba pulled up with a non-contact injury and had to be replaced by Maxence Lacroix, forcing an unwanted defensive reshuffle before the break. Spain, controlling 56 percent of the ball in the first half, continued to probe through Dani Olmo and Yamal without adding to their lead before the interval — Unai Simón was called into his only telling first-half act when he raced out of his box to head clear a long ball intended to send Mbappé away in behind.

The second half brought little respite for Les Bleus. Thirteen minutes after the restart, Pedro Porro exchanged passes with Olmo in a quick one-two and finished first-time past Maignan to make it 2-0 — exposing a French defensive lapse that summed up the afternoon. Spain almost had a third when Yamal turned home a close-range finish, only for the offside flag to deny him, and France's best moment of the match came when Simón scrambled off his line to smother a Bradley Barcola effort after the ball broke to Désiré Doué. Mbappé, tied with Lionel Messi atop the Golden Boot race coming in, was booked late for a foul on Simón as French frustration boiled over, but neither he nor his teammates could find a way past a defence built around the towering partnership of Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsí. France's bid for a third straight final ended in their first defeat of the tournament.

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Mike Maignan — Beaten Twice in a Difficult Afternoon

At the other end, Mike Maignan had little chance with either goal — sent the wrong way from Oyarzabal's well-placed penalty, and left with no answer to Porro's crisp first-time finish after the give-and-go with Olmo. With France's attack starved of service for long spells, Maignan's afternoon was more about damage limitation than shot-stopping, and he will have taken little from a match in which his side managed just 0.3 expected goals against a rampant Spanish midfield.

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Conclusion

France 0-2 Spain. Billed as the tournament's true final before the final, this semi-final instead delivered a one-sided lesson in defensive discipline. Spain, so often defined by their possession game, won this contest by denying France the space and time that had powered their run to the last four — Kylian Mbappé finished the match without a shot on target, and the French attack as a whole mustered just 0.3 expected goals against Pau Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte's unyielding back line.

For Spain, Mikel Oyarzabal's penalty and Pedro Porro's clinical finish were enough, with Unai Simón required for only two saves across the ninety minutes plus stoppage time. For France, the bid for a third straight World Cup final ends in disappointment, compounded by the sight of William Saliba forced off injured before the half-hour mark. Spain now turn their attention to Sunday's final in New Jersey, one win away from a second World Cup star and their first since that famous triumph in 2010.