Spain sweep past France to reach World Cup final
Oyarzabal from the spot, Porro off an Olmo cutback. Spain beat France 2-0 in Arlington, have conceded once all tournament and stretched their unbeaten run to 37 matches.
- Spain beat France 2-0 in Arlington to become the first World Cup finalist
- Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot, Pedro Porro added the second in the 58th minute
- Spain have conceded just one goal all tournament and are unbeaten in 37 matches
- The final is on July 19 at MetLife Stadium against the winner of England vs Argentina
In the 58th minute the camera found Pedro Porro sprinting towards the Spanish bench, mouth wide open, Mikel Merino trailing behind and losing ground. The match detail stitched on his shirt read France vs Spain, 14 July 2026, Dallas. The red end of the stadium rose, the French end sat down. That frame was the end of the game, even though half an hour still remained.
Porro kept it short afterwards. He said it was all down to the team, that he could not take credit, and that they knew they needed the ball to get close to the final. It sounds like a stock line until you watch how Spain looked after that ball.
The first blow had landed earlier. Lucas Digne brought down Lamine Yamal in the box, Oyarzabal placed it and never hesitated. It was his fifth goal of the tournament. From that moment France chased a match they could not catch, and William Saliba had to come off with a lower back injury, which did nothing for a defence already under strain.
The second goal was pure Spain. Dani Olmo dug the ball out of traffic, Porro arrived from the right and hit it first time. Referee Ivan Barton of El Salvador had little to do, because the game never turned nasty. France did not have the energy for it.
How did Spain shut down Mbappe, Dembele and Olise?
One number explains the night: France finished the first half without a single shot on target. With Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise on the pitch. That does not happen by accident and it is not a bad evening.
Spain defended by simply refusing to hand the ball over. Possession finished almost level, but Spain completed 427 passes at 85 percent accuracy and the expected goals read 1.63 to 0.31. France had ten shots, three on target, and not one that genuinely threatened. When an opponent only reaches your goal out of desperation, you controlled the evening.
This is a side that has conceded one goal in the entire World Cup. One. And that has not lost in 37 matches: 28 wins, nine draws, no defeats, two full years without dropping a game. In modern international football, where teams fall apart after two poor cycles, a run like that is close to indecent.
What comes next
Spain play the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium outside New York, waiting on the winner of England vs Argentina. Luis de la Fuente is chasing a repeat of the 2010 triumph and, unlike most coaches in that position, he has a squad that looks like it has already played the scenario out in its head.
France face the third-place match on Saturday. After a night like this, that is a punishment rather than a consolation.
What lingers is this: very few teams reach a final without a single moment of drama, no extra time, no shootout, no game that hung in the balance. Spain have treated this tournament like a job rather than a story. The only question is whether that is an advantage or a shortage of scar tissue when the final arrives.
Can England or Argentina stop Spain in the final?
