Spain beats France 2-0 in World Cup semifinal, reaches first final since 2010

Spain beat France 2-0 in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, sending Spain to its first final since 2010 and ending France’s bid to reach a third straight championship match.

The decisive breakthrough came in the 22nd minute, when Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty after Lamine Yamal drew a foul, according to the AP. It was Oyarzabal’s fifth goal of the tournament. Spain took that 1-0 lead into halftime and protected its advantage before adding another goal in the second half to seal the result.

The victory moves Spain into the 2026 World Cup final, where it will face the winner of the other semifinal between Argentina and England.

For France, the loss stopped a run that had put it on the verge of a third consecutive World Cup final. France won the tournament in 2018 and finished runner-up in 2022, and another semifinal victory would have sent it back to the title match again. Instead, Spain ended that push and continued its own return to the top stage of international soccer.

Spain had not reached a World Cup semifinal since 2010, when it went on to win the tournament. By advancing Tuesday, Spain is back in the final for the first time since that title-winning campaign.

The result also extended a clear recent pattern in one of Europe’s biggest rivalries. Spain has now beaten France in three straight competitive meetings in major tournaments. Spain won 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semifinal on July 9, 2024, then edged France 5-4 in the UEFA Nations League semifinal on June 5, 2025, before following with Tuesday’s 2-0 World Cup semifinal victory in Texas.

Taken together, those results underline Spain’s recent edge over France in high-stakes matches. The most important of them came Tuesday night, with a place in the World Cup final on the line.