La Roja in the dream final

Spain renewed its upper hand over neighboring France by defeating them 2-0 and reaching the final match of the 2026 World Cup in football on Tuesday in Dallas.

Mikel Oyarzabal (22nd minute penalty) and Pedro Porro (58th) scored Spain's goals, which knocked out 'Les Bleus' in three different tournaments in a row, after Euro 2024 (2-1) and the 2025 UEFA Nations League final (5-4).

Spain will meet in the final next Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (New Jersey/New York) with defending champion Argentina or England, who face each other on Wednesday in the second semi-final in Atlanta.

It is the second time Spain has reached the final after the first in 2010 when it won the title in South Africa by beating the Netherlands 1-0 after extra time.

Spain denied its neighbor reaching the final for the third time in a row in its quest for a third title after 1998 at home against Brazil and 2018 in Russia against Croatia, noting that it lost the last edition's final to Argentina.

France, which played in the semi-final for the third consecutive time and eighth in its history, only surpassed by Germany (12 times), failed to follow in the footsteps of Brazil and Germany, who reached three consecutive finals.

Coach Luis de la Fuente outperformed his counterpart Deschamps, who played his last match in charge of Les Bleus. His team was the better side for most of the match and succeeded in his plan to limit the danger of France's attacking quartet led by captain and top scorer Kylian Mbappé, and especially playmaker and Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise, who seemed lost in midfield.

Spain, which played in the semi-final for the second time in its history after 2010, achieved its 19th victory in 39 meetings against France against seven draws and 13 losses, including eight wins in the last 11 matches (one draw and two losses).