FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain deliver knockout blow against France

Spain stunned Les Bleus in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to enter the final of the showpiece event. Despite being the current European champions, Spain went into this encounter as the underdogs with France being considered the overwhelming favourites. However, La Roja ended up the deserving winners, beating France 2-0 at the Dallas Stadium and reaching the World Cup final after 16 years with a realistic chance to lift the Jules Rimet for the second time. 

Before the match even started, most of the outside noise was about the French attacking lineup consisting of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola as France was expected to blow the Spanish defence away with their pace, skills and finishing. Spain wasn’t even given a chance even when they had quietly reached the semi-finals, conceding only one goal all tournament. The match unfolded in ways not many would have imagined with Luis de la Fluente’s charges neutralizing the French attack and knocking them out of the competition. 

The match started with France counter-pressing and creating a few dangerous situations early on but the Spanish midfield of Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo comfortably kept control in the middle of the park, intercepted France’s passing channels, won duels and tackles while maintaining quick passing exchanges to deny France the possession they craved. Hence, France had to rely on long passes hurled forward which didn’t help them create many clear-cut chances. It was Spain that started to grow in the game and drew first blood when French full-back Lucas Digne didn’t see an onrushing Lamine Yamal and his foot hit Yamal inside the box, resulting in a penalty for Spain. Mikel Oyarzabal coolly slotted in from the spot-kick in the 22nd minute to give Spain the much-needed lead. Falling behind, France looked even more clueless and disjointed and their most creative player in the tournament, Olise was rendered ineffective with Rodri and Ruiz denying him breathing space in the midfield. Olise was also lucky to get away with a poor challenge on Rodri. Spain almost doubled the advantage in the 38th minute with a slick linkup between Ruiz and Yamal on the right but Ruiz’s effort on goal went wide. 

The second half arrived with France not having troubled Spain barring a couple of speculative efforts from distance. Spain piled more misery on France in the 58th minute when Olmo created a chance for an unmarked Pedro Porro who calmly struck it home past Maignan to double the advantage. Lamine Yamal found the net as well and thought he had killed the game but to his consternation, the linesman found him offside. France coach Deschamps brought on Doué, Manu Koné and Rayan Cherki but Spain barely relinquished possession and control. The only big chance came to Doué in the 82nd minute as he had an opportunity to get France back in the game when goalkeeper Unai Simon misjudged a clearance and was far away from his lines but Doué fluffed the lob, hitting it straight at the Spanish goalkeeper – a big let-off for Spain. Such was Spain’s effort at nullifying the French attack that they reduced France to their least expected goals (xG) of 0.30.  As a result, the French exited the competition at the semi-final stage. 

This was a massive surprise as not many predicted this after an incredibly dominant campaign so far. Spain on the other hand hadn’t produced a really excellent campaign from an attacking perspective but they came through a relatively difficult side of the draw and earned fighting wins to reach the semi-final. They saved the best for the last though as this was a thoroughly professional performance with the team executing the manager’s tactics to perfection and exploiting France’s weaknesses in the fullback and the midfield areas. Digne had a nightmare of a game and couldn’t control or track Yamal at all. With William Saliba getting injured early in the game, the French defence also started looking shaky. 

It wasn’t just the players though, French coach Deschamps should shoulder some blame as well. He  made a massive error replacing Koné in the starting lineup with Aurelien Tchouaméni as Koné had been performing well so far, why change what ain’t broke? France’s midfield pivot of Adrien Rabiot and Tchouaméni was completely outclassed by Rodri and Ruiz who protected their backline, positioned themselves dynamically in defence and attack and controlled the tempo of the game perfectly. Olmo and Oyarzabal looked dangerous going forward and Yamal was a constant threat on the right flank. 

France’s much-vaunted attacking forwards were left flustered and frustrated with the lack of space and time  they were given on the ball by the Spaniards and had to resort to shots from distance to have a chance at scoring. Spain played a tactically solid game, denying France yet again. This was the third meeting between the two countries since the Euros Championships in 2024 with Spain winning all three encounters. 

The French must be disappointed with this performance as they were seen as the prime title contenders before the start of the tournament but they were deservedly beaten by a team that  didn’t have many superstars but a team that was solid, technical and willing to help each other. Spain deserved to win this game as they were superior in all areas of the pitch, attacked in the opportune moments, didn’t take unnecessary risks, fought and won the ball out-of-possession,  and produced one of their best performances of the tournament when they most needed it. 

While they await their opponent for the final from the other semi-final between Argentina and England, one thing is for sure, La Roja has arrived and they will be a formidable adversary. As the age-old cliché goes – ‘Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles’, Spain is on course to win their second World Cup as they are peaking at the right time. Moreover, coming from the tougher side of the draw and having gotten the better of Portugal, Belgium and France in the knockouts would also give them a massive shot of confidence. 

It will be fascinating to see the approach they take against their opponents in the final. For now, though, Spain has overcome their biggest obstacle to secure a place in the final for the first time in 16 years and the best thing about it – almost no one gave them a chance in this game. Few things are more satisfying than proving everyone wrong, and after this stellar performance, the Spaniards are unlikely to be underestimated. ¡Bien hecho, España!