Spain booked their place in the 2026 World Cup final with an impressive 2-0 win over France in Dallas, ending Didier Deschamps’ hopes of a triumphant farewell.
La Roja will now face either England or Argentina in Sunday’s showpiece after producing a disciplined and clinical display that left France’s star-studded attack frustrated.
The breakthrough arrived after 20 minutes following a moment of brilliance and bravery from Lamine Yamal.
The teenage winger darted in front of Lucas Digne as the France defender attempted to clear his lines, drawing contact and a penalty despite protests from Les Bleus.
Mikel Oyarzabal showed no sign of nerves from the spot, emphatically dispatching his penalty high into the top-right corner beyond Mike Maignan’s dive to hand Spain a deserved lead.
France’s afternoon worsened shortly afterwards when William Saliba was forced off with a back injury midway through the first half.
French attack halted
Despite boasting the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola, France struggled badly to create meaningful opportunities against Spain’s organised defence.
Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi were excellent at the heart of the back line, while Unai Simon was rarely called into serious action.
Mbappe’s best opportunity before the break saw the striker race through on goal, only for Simon to rush from his line and clear the danger before the France captain could apply a finish.
Spain looked increasingly dangerous on the counter after half-time and doubled their advantage just before the hour mark through an unlikely source.
After Dani Olmo and Pedro Porro combined brilliantly on the edge of the area, the Tottenham full-back continued his run before calmly side-footing past Maignan to make it 2-0 and leave France facing a mountain to climb.
Fresh legs fail to impact
Deschamps responded by introducing fresh legs, with Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki both thrown into the action, but France never found any rhythm.
Their frustrations boiled over as Mbappe collected a late yellow card following a rash challenge on Simon.
The closest Les Bleus came to a breakthrough arrived when Mbappe forced Marc Cucurella into an important block before Simon recovered from a rare mistake to deny Doue late on.
By full-time, France had managed just three shots on target and generated only 0.3 expected goals despite the array of attacking talent at their disposal.
