On Tuesday, July 14th, 2026, Spain stunned tournament favorites France with a 2-0 victory at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, securing their place in the World Cup final. The European champions, who previously won the World Cup in 2010, produced a clinical performance that ended France's hopes of winning the title for the third time.

Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring with a first-half penalty after El Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton awarded the spot-kick. Pedro Porro added a second goal in the 58th minute to seal the win. France's key central defender William Saliba left the match injured in the 31st minute, replaced by Maxence Lacroix. Despite France's best efforts late in the first half, Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon made a crucial save denying Kylian Mbappé.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente praised his team, saying, "Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them they had the best team in the world." Meanwhile, France coach Didier Deschamps, who is stepping down after the tournament, acknowledged his team's shortcomings: "The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition, even though we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a notch below on the technical level against a team that controlled the game well."

Spain will now face either Argentina or England in the final scheduled for Sunday, July 19th, 2026, in New Jersey.

Sources