Kylian Mbappe’s World Cup dream ends as Spain beat France 2-0 to reach FIFA WC 2026 final

Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro earned Spain a deserved 2-0 win over France at Dallas Stadium in their FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final on Wednesday.

This was France’s fourth defeat in a World Cup semi-final (1958, 1982, 1986 and 2026) in eight appearances. It also marked their third straight elimination against Spain in a major tournament semi-final after UEFA Euro 2024 (2-1) and the UEFA Nations League 2025 (5-4).

France also suffered their first World Cup knockout defeat since the 2014 quarter-final loss to Germany (0-1), ending an impressive run of 11 knockout matches without defeat (10 wins, one draw).

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Spain book World Cup final berth with dominant display

Spain will now face the winners of the England vs Argentina semi-final at New Jersey Stadium in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final. Their only previous World Cup final appearance ended in glory, when Andres Iniesta scored the winner against the Netherlands in the 2010 final.

Oyarzabal and Porro strike to sink France

France started as slight favourites and Kylian Mbappe looked dangerous on the counterattack in the opening stages. However, Spain created the first major chance when Lamine Yamal, a day after his 19th birthday, reached the ball before Lucas Digne and was brought down inside the penalty area.

Oyarzabal confidently converted the resulting spot-kick past Mike Maignan, who is renowned for his penalty-saving ability.

Spain doubled their advantage soon after when Pedro Porro exchanged a brilliant one-two with Dani Olmo before calmly finishing into the bottom corner.

France fail to find a way back

France introduced Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki in an attempt to change the game, but Spain remained in complete control.

Goalkeeper Unai Simon impressed with his sweeping behind the defence, while Marc Cucurella produced a crucial challenge to deny Mbappe as France struggled to create clear-cut opportunities.

Spain continue impressive defensive record

The final whistle sparked celebrations for Spain as they secured another place in a World Cup final, while Didier Deschamps’ side were left to settle for Saturday’s third-place playoff. Mbappe will also have another opportunity to strengthen his challenge for the tournament’s Golden Boot.

Spain have now kept six clean sheets in seven matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and have conceded only two goals throughout the tournament. The record for the fewest goals conceded by a World Cup-winning team is also two, jointly held by France (1998), Italy (2006) and Spain (2010).

(With IANS Inputs)