Spain are into the World Cup final after beating France 2-0 on Tuesday in the first semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, a result that ended France’s bid for a third straight final and left the bracket waiting on Argentina and England. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and Pedro Porro added the second in the 58th, sending Spain back to the championship match for the first time since 2010.
The win was exactly the kind of step a knockout round demands, and it arrived with Spain’s sixth clean sheet of the tournament. That defensive record matters because Spain had already shown they could control games without chasing them, even as France came in unbeaten through six matches and with 16 goals to its name. France could not find a way through this time, and the margin was enough to settle a semifinal that had more at stake than the scoreline alone.
Mbappe did not hide his frustration after the defeat. He said France did not play the game it wanted, technically or tactically, and added that when a team fails to do what it must in a World Cup semifinal, it does not win. The remarks fit the result. France entered the match unbeaten and still left without the final it had been chasing, which is what makes a knockout tournament so unforgiving: one off night ends the run, no matter what came before.
Spain’s place in the final now turns the rest of the tournament into a single remaining path. Argentina and England were scheduled to meet in the second semifinal on Wednesday, July 15, and the winner will face Spain in the World Cup final. The loser will still have one more match, against France in the third-place play-off game. Argentina brought the tournament’s highest scoring record into the semifinal picture with 17 goals, one short of matching its own mark for most goals in a single World Cup campaign, while England arrived with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham each on six goals and an Opta projection that had England advancing in 51.9 percent of simulations.
That is why Spain’s result lands before the next ball is kicked. The final is already half set, and the other half will be decided by Argentina and England on Wednesday. Spain can now wait with the clearest advantage in the tournament: one match has already been won, and only one team left in the bracket can still reach them.
