Spain's solid defense silences France to book World Cup final spot

Spain moved within one win of a second FIFA World Cup title after beating France 2-0 in Tuesday's semifinal in Texas, ending Les Bleus' hopes of reaching a third consecutive final.

Mikel Oyarzabal broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after Lamine Yamal's relentless pressure forced Lucas Digne into a foul inside the area. Pedro Porro doubled the advantage shortly after the restart, finishing a crisp one-two with Dani Olmo to leave Spain firmly in control.

France arrived with one of the tournament's most dangerous attacking units, led by captain Kylian Mbappe,  reigning Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, but Spain's focused disciplined defensive structure left them with few clear opportunities. Yamal thought he had added a spectacular third goal a day after his 19th birthday, only for a tight offside decision to rule it out.

The victory gave Spain a record sixth clean sheet in seven matches at the tournament and stretched their unbeaten run in regular time to 37 matches since March 2024. They have also conceded only one goal throughout the World Cup.

"We were up against one of the best national teams in the world, but today, they were facing the best team in the world," Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said after the match.

La Roja will meet either defending champion Argentina or England in Sunday's World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while France will face the loser of that clash in the third-place playoff.

France coach Didier Deschamps, who is set to leave his job after 14 years following the third place playoff admitted his side struggled to break down Spain's organization.

"They've closed out all the spaces and also we've made some technical mistakes. So it is difficult to create problems when the technical level is below standard," outgoing French coach Deschamps said.