Spain beat France 2-0 to reach World Cup final

Spain beat France 2-0 with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro and will contest the World Cup final against the winner of England v Argentina.

Spain are within touching distance of glory.

Luis de la Fuente’s side beat France convincingly 2-0 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington and booked their place in the 2026 World Cup final after a display of character, footballing quality and competitive maturity.

La Roja once again got the better of one of the main favourites for the title in a hugely demanding match.

France tried to set the tempo early on, but Spain soon took control of possession and the midfield. Lamine Yamal’s pace proved decisive in breaking the deadlock: the winger won a penalty after a challenge from Lucas Digne and Mikel Oyarzabal made no mistake from the spot to put Spain ahead before half-time.

With the advantage on the scoreboard, the Spanish team showed the composure that has been the hallmark of their whole campaign.

Rodri and Fabián Ruiz ran the show in the middle of the park, while an impeccably disciplined defence neutralised Mbappé and France’s powerful attacking unit. France tried to react after the interval but ran into a consistently solid Spain side, leaving keeper Unai Simón virtually untested.

The decisive blow came in the second half, when Dani Olmo threaded a superb pass into the path of Pedro Porro, who surged forward from full-back with a striker’s instinct to beat Mike Maignan and make it 2-0, leaving the reigning World Cup runners-up reeling.