FranceFRA
0
SpainESP
2
Oyarzabal 21' (p),Pedro Porro 57'
Finished
World Cup 2026

Spain’s World Cup win over France: a lesson to the world

Spain reached their second World Cup final after a great game against France. Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot before Porro got the second.

Spain reached their second World Cup final after a great game against France. Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot before Porro got the second.
SAM WASSON
Héctor MartíneztwitterJoe Brennantwitter
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Change Durban to Dallas, replace Puyol with Oyarzabal and Porro, and the story ends just as happily: Spain are through to only the second World Cup final in their history. La Roja defeated France 2-0, the tournament’s best team up to this point, but above all earned the admiration and respect of football fans everywhere. It is hard to play better, to tame a side with so much talent, to make players such as Mbappé, Olise and Dembélé look ordinary. That is exactly what Spain did, booking their place in next Sunday’s final in New York/New Jersey. The dream of a second star is now one step closer.

In the hours before kickoff, Pedri’s absence from the starting lineup certainly sparked intense debate. Luis de la Fuente decided the midfielder was better used from the bench, with Fabián taking his place, just as he had against Belgium in the quarterfinals. It was one of those decisions destined to be judged only by the result: if Spain won, the debate would disappear; if they lost...

The coach had settled on his lineup before seeing Didier Deschamps’s plans, although reports from France suggested Barcola would replace Doué. That is exactly what happened. It was a straight swap between the two PSG forwards, with Deschamps opting for a little more pace and directness.

France, however, did not press high as they had against Morocco. Instead, they sat back and allowed Spain to circulate possession. The respect between the teams was evident, and from that tactical battle came the first key moment: Adrien Rabiot’s late challenge on Dani Olmo on the edge of the box. The foul earned the midfielder a yellow card.

But Lucas Digne’s mistake proved even more costly. His challenge gifted Spain a penalty, almost identical to the one Luka Modrić conceded against Portugal. On a difficult ball, Lamine Yamal anticipated the Aston Villa defender by a split second. Digne never saw him coming and caught him with a wild kick, leaving the referee with an easy decision and VAR unnecessary. It happened in Dallas, and they say even a gas station attendant in Houston could see it was a penalty. Mikel Oyarzabal converted, and after a sluggish opening, the final suddenly looked within reach.

France had barely recovered when they suffered another setback: William Saliba was forced off through injury and replaced by Maxence Lacroix.

From then on, Spain showed they could suffer as well as play, fully aware of the danger posed by Mbappé and company. They almost doubled their lead in the 38th minute in what would have been a psychologically crushing blow. It was a move straight from La Roja’s footballing DNA: a slick one-two between Lamine and Olmo ended with a cutback for Fabián, whose effort was deflected behind by Upamecano. It was a missed opportunity, but Spain could still be pleased. At 1-0, they were just 45 minutes away from another dream.

Deschamps reacted at halftime by replacing the booked Rabiot with Manu Koné, before introducing Doué for Barcola 10 minutes into the second half. De la Fuente, meanwhile, stayed patient. Perhaps it was the wisdom of a monk, trusting that time would eventually allow Spain’s football to take over.

That faith was rewarded. Once again, Dani Olmo was at the heart of it. The Barcelona midfielder exchanged a one-two with Pedro Porro despite being fouled, and the Tottenham full-back finished with the composure of a world-class striker rather than a right-back, drilling his shot inside the near post.

There was still more than half an hour to play, but Spain refused to retreat. They wanted the goal that would kill the contest. In the 61st minute, Lamine thought he had created a third with another dazzling run, only for the finish to be ruled out by the tightest of offside calls.

It mattered little. The flurry of substitutions failed to change the pattern of the game, and Spain crossed the finish line with the resilience required against the runners-up from the 2022 World Cup. The final was theirs. It was already in their hands. Now there are five days left to enjoy this remarkable journey.

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France
Spain

Substitutions

Maxence Lacroix (29', William Saliba), Manu Koné (45', Adrien Rabiot), Désiré Doué (56', Bradley Barcola), Théo Hernández (71', Lucas Digne), Rayan Cherki (72', Michael Olise), Ferran Torres (73', Mikel Oyarzabal), Mikel Merino (77', Dani Olmo), Pedri (77', Fabián Ruiz), Marcos Llorente (83', Pedro Porro), Nico Williams (83', Álex Baena)

Goals

0-1, 21': Oyarzabal, 0-2, 57': Pedro Porro

Cards

Referee: Iván Barton
VAR Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski, Dennis Higler
Rabiot (8',Yellow), Cucurella (30',Yellow), Mbappé (85',Yellow)

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