Spain is going back to the World Cup final. Mikel Oyarzabal converted a first-half penalty and Pedro Porro finished a sharp second-half move to beat France 2-0 in Tuesday’s semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The victory came four days after Spain’s quarterfinal win over Belgium and puts La Roja within one match of a second world championship. Spain hadn’t reached the final since lifting the trophy in 2010.
Lamine Yamal created the opening in the 20th minute. Lucas Digne’s poor touch invited the teenager to attack the loose ball, and the France left back caught him inside the area. Oyarzabal waited through the protests before driving the penalty into the top-right corner in the 22nd minute for his fifth goal of the tournament.
France’s afternoon deteriorated again when William Saliba went down injured and had to be replaced by Maxence Lacroix after 30 minutes. Didier Deschamps also withdrew the booked Adrien Rabiot at halftime, but the four-forward plan against Spain never found enough space behind Rodri and Spain’s compact midfield.
Porro supplied the separating goal in the 58th minute. The right back exchanged passes with Dani Olmo, ran into the center of the box and swept a low finish beyond Mike Maignan. Yamal thought he had added a third three minutes later, but the close offside flag kept the score at 2-0.
Spain’s control survives France’s late push
The shot count finished level at 10 apiece, but Spain protected its lead with discipline rather than retreating completely. Pau Cubarsí and Aymeric Laporte held their line, Rodri kept the ball moving, and Unai Simón made three saves. The last two came from Ousmane Dembélé in stoppage time, while Kylian Mbappé sent two late efforts over and was booked for a foul on Simón.
Porro’s goal and two-way work earned him the official player-of-the-match award. Spain finished with 50.9 percent possession and completed 428 passes, while France managed only three shots on target despite introducing Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki and Théo Hernández in pursuit of a way back.
France had arrived as the favorite and with a chance to become only the third nation to reach three consecutive World Cup finals. Instead, the run ends one match after Mbappé and Dembélé delivered a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco. France will play Saturday’s third-place game in Miami Gardens.
Spain will face Argentina or England in Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. After eliminating France in the semifinals of Euro 2024 and the 2025 Nations League, Spain has now beaten the same opponent at the same stage in three consecutive summers. This time, the reward is a return to the biggest match in international soccer.
