Spain 2-0 France: Oyarzabal and Porro Book the World Cup Final

Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise had combined for 13 goals and 10 assists across the first six matches of this tournament. Against Spain on Tuesday the three of them managed five shot attempts worth a combined 0.15 expected goals. That number is the whole story of a 2-0 Spain win at AT&T Stadium in Arlington that sent La Roja to their first World Cup final since 2010, and sent the pre-match favorites home to a third-place match nobody in Paris wanted.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted a 22nd-minute penalty and Pedro Porro doubled it in the 58th. Spain now wait on the winner of England vs Argentina, played Wednesday, July 15 in Atlanta, with the final set for Sunday, July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Spain 2-0 France: What Happened in Arlington

The penalty came from a Lamine Yamal moment that was equal parts anticipation and nerve. Lucas Digne took a poor first touch with his head, and as the French left-back tried to recover and clear, Yamal raced in from behind to challenge inside the area. The ball struck the leaping teenager's elbow, and Digne then kicked him. Referee Ivan Arcides Barton Cisneros pointed to the spot. Oyarzabal buried it, and Spain led inside 25 minutes.

France did not register a shot on target in the first half.

The second goal was Spain's tournament in miniature. Porro, the right-back, played a give-and-go with Dani Olmo and finished it himself in the 58th minute. By that point Spain had eight shot attempts to France's two and had won 60 percent of the duels. Yamal, a day after his 19th birthday, had a goal ruled out on a tight offside call shortly afterward.

France finished with 10 shot attempts. Only one came from within 13 meters of goal, and only three were on target, per ESPN's match coverage. Sky Sports noted that two of those three arrived after the 94th minute, which tells you what kind of pressure it was.

Deschamps Points at the Referee, and at His Own Team

Didier Deschamps did not hide behind the penalty call, though he did raise it.

"To have any hope, we needed to be at our best," Deschamps said. "Unfortunately, we weren't."

He was more specific about the mechanism. "Today [Spain] defended extremely well. They left us very little space. On top of that, because we made technical mistakes, it became difficult to create problems for them. Our technical level was below what we'd shown in previous matches."

On the officiating, he chose his words carefully and then said it anyway. "If I say anything, I'll look like a sore loser because we lost," Deschamps said. "But I ask you: is the referee up to the task of officiating a semifinal? There's the penalty, but that's not all; it adds to everything else. I have nothing against the referee tonight, but ask yourselves the question."

The loss ends a 14-year tenure. Deschamps takes charge of France one last time in Saturday's third-place match against the loser of England vs Argentina. ESPN reported this spring that Zinedine Zidane agreed to succeed him.

The Numbers Behind Spain's Run

Spain have conceded one goal across seven matches at this World Cup, and it took Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere in the quarterfinal to get it. Six clean sheets in seven. They have not lost in two years, a 37-match unbeaten run of 28 wins, nine draws and no defeats.

This was also the third summer in a row Spain have knocked France out of a tournament semifinal. Yamal scored in a 2-1 win at Euro 2024 days before his 17th birthday, and Spain won 5-4 in the Nations League last year. That is not a coincidence any more, it is a matchup.

France's exit is less catastrophic than the scoreline suggests. This was their third straight semifinal and fourth straight quarterfinal, and only their second loss in regulation across their last 21 World Cup matches. What it cost them was history: only West Germany (1982, 1986, 1990) and Brazil (1994, 1998, 2002) have reached three consecutive World Cup finals.

Betting Impact: The Favorite Never Showed Up

France went into Arlington as the shorter price all week. DraftKings opened the match on July 11 at France +135 on the 90-minute moneyline, Spain +215 and the draw +225, and had drifted to roughly France +150 and Spain +210 by kickoff. Our own France vs Spain semifinal preview cited a Bet365 board of France +130, Spain +210, draw +225 on July 11. Spain never trailed, never conceded, and closed the game out inside 60 minutes of live danger.

Three things bettors should take out of this before Sunday:

1. The Spain under is real, not a narrative. One goal conceded across seven matches and six clean sheets. Every Spain total priced off their opponent's reputation rather than their own defensive record has been a bad number all tournament. 2. France's attacking props were a trap at a bad time. Mbappe anytime scorer was a profitable ticket for six matches and then produced nothing against the one defense built to strangle it. Attacking props against Spain need a discount, not the usual tournament-form premium. 3. The Golden Boot board is now frozen at the top until Wednesday night. Mbappe finished the semifinal on eight goals and three assists. Messi is on eight goals and two assists. FIFA's tiebreaker runs goals, then assists, then fewest minutes played, then fewest penalty goals, so Mbappe leads on the assist tiebreaker. Messi can take it outright by scoring in Atlanta. Mbappe is not done either, since France still have the third-place match Saturday. Refresh the board after the second semifinal before you touch this market. Our Golden Boot race breakdown has the full field.

One caution on futures. ESPN's World Cup odds page was still serving a cached board dated June 30 at the time of writing, so we are not quoting a live outright number here. Pull Spain's price from your own book before betting it, because it has moved twice in 24 hours.

For the rest of the tournament slate, the AI soccer predictions hub and the soccer daily picks page are updated match by match.

What to Watch Next

England vs Argentina, Wednesday, July 15, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, decides Spain's opponent. Thomas Tuchel is reportedly weighing a man-marking plan for Messi, which is the single biggest variable in both the match line and the Golden Boot market.

Then Saturday's third-place match, where Deschamps takes his final bow and Mbappe gets one more crack at the Golden Boot. And Sunday at MetLife, where Spain will try to win their second World Cup, 16 years after their first.

Chad AI tracks every prop and line move on the World Cup slate inside the StatSniper app. The Chad picks hub has the full board.

FAQ

What was the score in the France vs Spain World Cup 2026 semifinal? Spain beat France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Mikel Oyarzabal scored a 22nd-minute penalty and Pedro Porro added the second in the 58th minute.

Who did Spain play in the 2026 World Cup final? Spain face the winner of the England vs Argentina semifinal, played Wednesday, July 15 in Atlanta. The final is Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Why did Spain get a penalty against France? Lamine Yamal challenged for a loose ball inside the area after Lucas Digne's poor headed first touch. The ball hit Yamal's elbow as he leapt, and Digne then kicked him. Referee Ivan Arcides Barton Cisneros awarded the penalty, which Oyarzabal converted.

Did Kylian Mbappe score against Spain? No. Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise combined for just five shot attempts worth 0.15 expected goals. Mbappe remains on eight goals and three assists for the tournament and can still add to that in Saturday's third-place match.

How many goals have Spain conceded at the 2026 World Cup? One, across seven matches. Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere scored it in the quarterfinal. Spain have six clean sheets and are unbeaten in 37 matches over two years.

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