It wasn’t the flashiest group on the semifinal card — and it actually wasn’t the one with the best World Cup file — however Spain proved its match bonafides by beating France 2-0 in entrance of a sold-out crowd in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.
The victory sealed Spain’s spot within the 2026 FIFA World Cup last and eradicated France from the competitors.
It is a surprising end result on paper. France entered the match because the outright match favourite after outscoring its opponents 16-2 within the opening rounds of the competitors, with its captain Kylian Mbappe contributing eight objectives and three assists to its whole. Spain, in the meantime, struggled to get its match going, drawing 0-0 with Cabo Verde in its opening match and needing an extra-time winner to take down Portugal within the Spherical of 16.
In follow, although, it is a end result that makes excellent sense. Spain has develop into France’s bogey group: It eradicated it from the Euros in 2024 and the Nations League finals in 2025 earlier than kicking it out of the World Cup in 2026.
Listed below are the important thing takeaways from Spain’s dominant semifinal show:
France received caught ball-watching
Each of Spain’s objectives — a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty within the first half and a Pedro Porro run within the second — had been well-worked group affairs, however neither ought to’ve occurred. France’s gamers received caught watching the ball as an alternative of Spain’s runners on each events, and people errors made all of the distinction in the long run.
Check out French defender Lucas Digne as he concedes a penalty within the first half:
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