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Spain reached FIFA World Cup final after 16 years: Defeated France 2-0, Yamal created a stir again

Samira Vishwas | July 17, 2026 10:24 AM CST

Spain vs France FIFA WC Semi final: Spain performed brilliantly and defeated France 2-0 in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and reached the final of the tournament after 16 years. In this high-voltage match played at the AT&T Stadium in America on Tuesday, Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scored goals, while 19-year-old star player Lamin Yamal troubled the entire defense of France with his fast pace and brilliant play.

Spain eliminated France from the knockout rounds for the third consecutive major tournament. Earlier, Spain had also defeated France in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 and in the UEFA Nations League last year.

The first goal of the match came in the 22nd minute. France’s experienced defender Lucas Digne misjudged a header into his own box. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yamal quickly reached the ball. In panic, Digne fouled him and the referee immediately awarded a penalty.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted the penalty without making any mistake. This was his fifth goal in this World Cup. The special thing was that for the first time in the entire tournament, either France or Spain was lagging behind during the match.

After falling behind in the first half, world number-1 ranked France could not make a comeback. Spain’s strong defense did not allow captain Kylian Mbappe to play freely in the entire match.

Spain doubled its lead in the 58th minute. Pedro Porro played a brilliant one-two pass with Dani Olmo and then fired a powerful shot into the net. After this the score became 2-0 and France’s hopes of comeback were almost over.

After some time Yamal also scored the third goal. But it was canceled due to very close offside. France made continuous attacks in the last minutes of the match. But could not penetrate Spain’s disciplined defence.

After the match, French captain Kylian Mbappe accepted the defeat and said that his team could not show its best game both at the technical and strategic level. He said, ‘We could not stop Spain’s momentum. Our plan was to press high. But we were not successful in that. Technically, we made a lot of mistakes and even when we got opportunities, we could not take advantage of them.

Now Spain will play the World Cup final after 16 years. They will face defending champions Argentina or England at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday. The French team will compete for the third place on Saturday.