Spain defeat France 2-0 in the 2026 World Cup semifinal, extending Les Bleus' semifinal pain to four losses in eight appearances.
Spain defeated France 2-0 to reach the 2026 World Cup final, inflicting a fourth semifinal defeat on Les Bleus in eight appearances. Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scored the goals that ended France's hopes of a third consecutive final appearance.
France's quest for a third consecutive World Cup final came to a crushing end in Dallas on Tuesday night, as a clinical Spain side secured a 2-0 victory in the semifinal. The result means Les Bleus have now lost four of their eight World Cup semifinal appearances, a statistic that continues to haunt one of international football's most successful nations.
The match followed a familiar pattern for France, who entered the tournament as favourites after cruising through the group stage with victories over Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. They had dispatched Sweden, Paraguay, and Morocco in the knockout rounds, arriving at the semifinal with a flawless six-match winning streak. But Spain, who had already beaten France in the Euro 2024 and 2025 Nations League semifinals, proved to be their nemesis once again.
Spain took the lead in the 22nd minute when Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal inside the penalty area, with Mikel Oyarzabal converting the resulting spot-kick. France suffered another setback when defender William Saliba was forced off through injury in the 30th minute. Didier Deschamps, in what would be his final World Cup match as France manager, made a half-time change, introducing Manu Kone for the booked Adrien Rabiot, but the momentum remained with Spain.
The decisive blow arrived in the 58th minute when Pedro Porro combined with Dani Olmo before calmly finishing past Mike Maignan to double Spain's lead. Lamine Yamal, celebrating his 19th birthday on the eve of the match, thought he had added a third six minutes later, but his effort was ruled out for offside. France's best chance came when Kylian Mbappe's shot from the edge of the box was deflected, but they could not find a way past a resolute Spanish defence.
France's semifinal history is now defined by two distinct eras: early heartbreak followed by recent success, and now a painful return to the defeats that marked their early campaigns. Their first three semifinal attempts ended in elimination against Brazil in 1958 and West Germany in both 1982 and 1986. Since then, they had won four consecutive semifinals—against Croatia in 1998, Portugal in 2006, Belgium in 2018, and Morocco in 2022—but that remarkable run has now come to an end.
Only Germany, with 12 appearances, has reached the World Cup semifinals more often than France's eight. Brazil also have eight semifinal appearances, level with Les Bleus. The defeat means France will now contest the third-place play-off on Saturday, where they will face the loser of the other semifinal between Argentina and England.
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