The Spanish and French national football teams resume a new chapter of their European rivalry when they meet on Tuesday in the semi-final of the 2026 World Cup. The match brings together Spain's historical superiority in overall meetings and a single but decisive French memory in the World Cup, which ended with a 3-1 victory for 'the Roosters' in 2006. Between a Spanish generation led by Lamine Yamal and a French force spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe, the summit appears open to a technical and star-studded battle for a ticket to the final. Historically, Spain has the edge over France in previous meetings, as the two teams have faced each other 38 times in all competitions, with Spain winning 18, France 13, and 7 draws. Spanish players have scored 71 goals while French players have scored 44. Spain has had the upper hand in recent encounters with France, having most recently won 5-4 in the UEFA Nations League semi-final, and also won 2-1 in the semi-final of the 2024 European Championship. France's last victory over Spain came in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final, when the French team beat their Spanish counterparts 2-1 in that match. The Euro 2024 semi-final match also witnessed a remarkable performance by young Spanish star Lamine Yamal, who scored the equalizer for his country with a powerful shot that found the back of the net, before his teammate Dani Olmo scored the winning goal. In World Cup competitions only, the two teams have met once before, in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup, when France beat Spain 3-1. David Villa had put Spain ahead in the first half from a penalty kick, before Franck Ribery equalized for the French, and then Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane scored the second and third goals in the second half to send France to the quarter-finals. It is worth noting that Spain qualified for the semi-finals after defeating Belgium 2-1 in the quarter-finals, while France beat Morocco 2-0 in the same round.