Oyarzabal and Porro Send Spain Past France and Into World Cup Final

ARLINGTON, TX- The Spain National Team battled to a 2-0 victory over France in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Semifinal match on Tuesday afternoon.

The match kicked off at AT&T Stadium to a crowd of 80,000.

France starting lineup: 4-2-3-1 | Mike Maignan, Jules Koundé, William Saliba, Dayot Upamencano, Lucas Digne, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot, Bradley Barcola, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé (C)

France substitutes: | Brice Samba, Robin Risser, Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki, Ibrahima Konaté, Theo Hernández, Lucas Hernández, Malo Gusto, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Koné, N’Golo Kante, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Magnes Akliouche, Marcus Thuram

Spain starting lineup: 4-3-3 | Unai Simón, Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Dani Olmo, Álex Baena, Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal

Spain substitutes: | David Raya, Marc Pubill, Alejandro Grimaldo, Eric García, Marlos Llorente, Mikel Merino, Ferran Torres, Gavi, Yéremy Pino, Joan García, Nico Williams, Martín Zubimnedi, Pedri, Víctor Muñoz, Borja Iglesias

Officials: | ​Ivan Barton (Center Official), David Moran (AR1), Antonio Pupiro (AR2), Glenn Nyberg (4th official), & Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Video Assistant Referee).

Spain got the match underway, patiently building out from the back as they looked to establish possession early.

Entering the 20th minute, Spain were awarded a penalty kick after defender Lucas Digne took down forward Lamine Yamal inside the penalty area.

Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up and calmly converted the penalty, sending Mike Maignan the wrong way to give Spain a 1-0 lead.

France head coach Didier Deschamps was forced into his first change in the 29th minute, replacing the injured William Saliba with Maxence Lacroix.

In the 31st minute, Spain defender Marc Cucurella was shown a yellow card for a heavy challenge on Michael Olise.

Spain created the next opportunity three minutes later, but Dani Olmo sent his right-footed effort high over the crossbar.

Bradley Barcola responded for France in the 36th minute, curling a right-footed effort over the bar.

Less than a minute later, Pedro Porro tried his luck from distance, but his attempt also sailed over the crossbar.

Spain then came close to doubling its advantage when Fabián Ruiz met a cutback inside the penalty area, only for Dayot Upamecano to deflect his effort narrowly wide and behind for a corner.

Ousmane Dembélé had the final opportunity of the half in the fifth minute of stoppage time, but his right-footed effort sailed high and wide.

After the initial 45+6 minutes, the match entered with Spain holding a 1-0 lead over France.

Pedro Porro combined with Dani Olmo before racing in behind the French defense and calmly slotting the ball past Mike Maignan to double Spain’s lead.

Spain thought it had added a third less than a minute later when Lamine Yamal broke in behind and found the net. However, the goal was ruled out for offside, keeping the score at 2-0.

Kylian Mbappé had the next effort for France in the 89th minute when his free kick effort went high over the bar.

Nico Williams had a chance to add to Spain’s lead in the 90+3 minute when his left footed effort towards goal hit the side netting.

Less than a minute later, Ousmane Dembélé had a left footed chance inside the Spanish penalty area that was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Unai Simón.

After 90+7 minutes, the match concluded in a 2-0 victory for Spain.

France will now face the loser of England/Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Third Place match. The match will kick off in Miami, Florida at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, July 18th at 5:00 p.m. EST.

The Spain National Team now travel to take on the winner of Argentina/England National Team in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals. The match will kick off in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19th at 3:00 p.m. EST.

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