Kylian Mbappé of France, right, competes for the ball against Lamine Yamal of Spain during the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal match between France and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 14.GETTY/YONHAP
Spain shut out France 2-0 on Tuesday to become the first team through to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, with 19-year-old footballer Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona again setting the tone.
Spain, managed by Luis de la Fuente, defeated then-No. 1 France in the semifinal at Dallas Stadium in Texas. France has since dropped to No. 3 in the latest official FIFA ranking, while Spain remains at No. 2 behind Argentina.
Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty in the 22nd minute after Yamal drew a foul in the box. Pedro Porro then doubled the lead in the 58th minute.
This marks the first time that Spain has advanced to the World Cup final since winning the title — also for the first time — in 2010. The team will seek its second championship at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday when it faces the winner of the semifinal match between England and Argentina.
France, which had been chasing a third consecutive World Cup final appearance, will now play in the third-place match.
The win extended Spain’s unbeaten streak, which began in March 2023, to 37 matches.
Pedro Porro of Spain celebrates scoring the 0-2 goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals match against France in Dallas on July 14.EPA/YONHAP
Before the World Cup, Park Ji-sung, a JTBC commentator and former Manchester United midfielder, had picked Spain as a title contender.
“[This year] feels remarkably similar to 2010,” Park said. “Spain won the UEFA Euro 2008 before lifting the World Cup trophy, and they were No. 2 in the FIFA ranking at the time. The team is coming into [this] tournament after winning the UEFA Euro 2024. […] I think that Spain could repeat history.”
Ahead of the match, Yamal appeared to taunt France on Instagram by post photos of himself celebrating his goal against France in the UEFA Euro 2024 semifinal and of Spain leading France 5-1 in the UEFA Nations League.
Spain's Lamine Yamal, right, and France's Kylian Mbappé fall during a 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinal match in Arlington, Texas, on July 14.AP/YONHAP
The breakthrough came in the 20th minute when France’s Lucas Digne headed away a cross from the left by Spain’s Marc Cucurella. As Digne attempted to clear the ball, he caught Yamal with a kick inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty.
For the penalty kick, Oyarzabal fired a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner for his fifth goal of the tournament.
France suffered another setback eight minutes later. Center back William Saliba went down injured, resulting in inexperienced replacement Maxence Lacroix stepping onto the pitch in the 30th minute.
The French side failed to register a single shot on target in the first half as Rodri dominated the midfield and Spain dominated possession with its trademark passing game.
Spain's Pedro Porro, right, celebrates with Mikel Merino, center, and Nico Williams after scoring his side's second goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinal match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, on July 14.AP/YONHAP
Spain doubled its lead in the 58th minute. Porro exchanged a quick one-two with forward Dani Olmo before bursting into the penalty area and calmly finishing past goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Yamal thought that he had added a third four minutes later, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Although he finished the match without scoring, the Barcelona star consistently troubled France’s defense with his dribbling.
France attempted to change the game midway through the second half, replacing the ineffective Michael Olise with Rayan Cherki and bringing on Théo Hernandez for Digne, who had struggled to contain Yamal.
One of France’s best opportunities came in the 82nd minute when Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón headed the ball clear outside his area. Désiré Doué of France immediately tried to capitalize with a shot toward the unguarded net, but Simón raced back in time to make the save.
Kylian Mbappé’s frustration boiled over in the closing minutes when he was booked for an unnecessary foul on Simón. The France captain, who entered the semifinal as the tournament’s leading scorer with eight goals, was held scoreless as Pau Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte anchored another composed defensive display for Spain.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
