Spain beat France 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup semifinal in Texas, on Tuesday to make it three wins in a row against their European heavyweight rival having beaten Les Bleus in the 2024 European Championship semifinals and the UEFA Nations League semifinals in 2025.
The win for Luis de la Fuente’s side also ended France’s dream of returning to the World Cup final for a third consecutive tournament — a feat achieved only by West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and Brazil from 1994 to 2002.
A first-half penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and an early second-half strike by Pedro Porro staked Spain to a 2-0 lead as they played a near-perfect match against France to advance to a final against England or Argentina on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Trailing 1-0 at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) after Oyarzabal converted a penalty following a foul on Lamine Yamal in the area, France took another hit when center back William Saliba was forced off because of a back injury in the 30th minute and replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
The European Champions looked like a well-oiled machine as they were strong in possession of the ball and did a great job of limiting the impact of France stars Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
Throughout the game, Spanish captain, Rodri was phenomenal in the middle of park as he made decisive interventions and diffused threats from France, while always being steady on the ball in the middle of the field.
France were up against history as they returned for the second half with only two teams having ever advanced in a World Cup semifinal after trailing at halftime: Argentina vs. Italy in 1990 and Croatia overcoming England in 2018.
Deschamps rang the changes at halftime, bringing on Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot to star the second half and Désiré Doué for Bradley Barcola soon after that.
Despite the new faces, it was the same story for France, who continued to be frustrated by Spain’s pressing all over the field and by some key saves from Unai Simón in the La Roja net.
Things went from bad to worse for France when Porro broke free of his marker on a smooth team move from Spain and finished past Mike Maignan to make it 2-0.
The loss means the end of the line for Mbappé, who is level with with Lionel Messi on eight goals in the race for the Golden Boot. Harry Kane has six goals and can still add to his tally, as can Messi in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
The frustration seemed to boil over for Mbappé in the 86th minute when he rushed toward Simón just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Simón to the grass and earning the Real Madrid striker a yellow card.
Spain were able to see out the win and tie Italy for the most consecutive games without a loss at 37 and the nation’s second trip to a World Cup final to boot.
Deschamps and France will play in the third-place game in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, against the loser of Wednesday’s semifinal between England and Argentina.