Ultimately, the third attempt was not successful for France.
Spain triumphed over France with a score of 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup semifinal held in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. This victory marks Spain’s third consecutive defeat of their European adversaries, having previously bested Les Bleus in the semifinals of the 2024 European Championship and the 2025 UEFA Nations League.
This win for Luis de la Fuente’s squad dashed France’s hopes of reaching the World Cup final for the third straight tournament, a record only accomplished by West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and Brazil from 1994 to 2002.
A penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal in the first half and an early second-half goal from Pedro Porro secured a 2-0 lead for Spain, who delivered an almost flawless performance against France, propelling them to a final against either England or Argentina on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“We gave everything to make it to the final,” Porro stated post-match. “We are a tough team, and we are performing exceptionally well. This is about the team, not just one player.”
France faced adversity early on as they trailed 1-0 at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) after Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot following a foul on Lamine Yamal. They suffered another setback in the 30th minute when center back William Saliba had to leave the match due to a back injury and was replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
The European Champions operated like a well-oiled machine, dominating possession and effectively minimizing the impact of French stars like Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé, and Ousmane Dembélé, maintaining a 1-0 advantage at halftime.
Spain’s key player was central defender Rodri, who made crucial plays and neutralized threats from France while remaining composed in midfield.
“It was a team effort today,” Rodri said after the match. “This was our best performance of the World Cup so far. France is a formidable opponent that can capitalize on any mistake, but we all rose to the occasion.”
“I’ve mentioned this before; we are demonstrating maturity in critical moments, and this was a crucial point,” he added. “In pivotal moments, France can be deadly, so maintaining our composure was vital.”
France was fighting against both time and history upon returning for the second half, as only two teams had ever come back from a halftime deficit in a World Cup semifinal: Argentina against Italy in 1990 and Croatia, who overcame England in 2018.
Deschamps made changes at halftime, bringing on Manu Koné in place of Adrien Rabiot to start the second half and later substituting Désiré Doué for Bradley Barcola.
However, even with the fresh faces, the story remained the same for France, who struggled against Spain’s relentless pressing and the impressive saves from Unai Simón.
Things went from bad to worse as Porro broke away from his defender during a slick team play from Spain and scored to extend the lead to 2-0 against Mike Maignan.
This defeat brings an end to the tournament for Mbappé, who is tied with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot with eight goals. Meanwhile, Harry Kane has six goals and has the potential to add more, as does Messi in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
Frustration seemed to boil over for Mbappé in the 86th minute when he collided with Simón as the Spain goalkeeper bent over to retrieve the ball, resulting in a yellow card for the Real Madrid striker.
Spain successfully maintained their lead, matching Italy’s record of 37 consecutive games without a loss and securing their second World Cup final appearance.
“This is significant for us, considering we’ve only reached the final twice in our history, and now we want to win the World Cup,” said Rodri. “We need rest and to identify areas for improvement because we aim to win the next one.”
Deschamps and France will compete in the third-place match against the loser of Wednesday’s semifinal between England and Argentina in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Global Research contributed to this report.