In the first semi-final of the 2026 World Cup, which concluded this morning (July 15) Hong Kong time, Spain defeated France 2-0 to reach the World Cup final for the second time in their history, following their 2010 triumph in South Africa. Lamine Yamal, Spain's young star, has now experienced a World Cup final in his debut tournament.
In the 22nd minute, Yamal won a penalty for Spain, which Mikel Oyarzabal converted to score his fifth goal of the tournament — matching the single-tournament record for a Spanish player previously set by Emilio Butragueño (1986) and David Villa (2010).
In the 58th minute, Pedro Porro combined with Dani Olmo just outside the box before driving into the area and calmly slotting home to make it 2-0. Neither side scored thereafter, and Spain secured a 2-0 victory over France.
Throughout the match, France managed only one shot on target from Désiré Doué, two from Ousmane Dembélé, and none from Kylian Mbappé.
Among the four semi-finalists, France were the only team to have won all three group matches and three knockout matches without ever needing extra time. In the knockout rounds, they had beaten Sweden, Paraguay, and Morocco, keeping clean sheets in all three. Over six matches, they had scored 16 goals — an unparalleled attacking record.
Spain's strength lies in their extreme possession-based control and stability. They have conceded just one goal in the entire tournament. With this win, Spain have extended their unbeaten run in regular time to 37 matches, equalling Italy's record. This is also the third consecutive time in three years that Spain have eliminated France in a major international semi-final.
The two teams had met only once before at a World Cup — in the Round of 16 in 2006, when France won 3-1.
Spain will face the winner of the other semi-final between Argentina and England in the final.
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