France 0-2 Spain: La Roja reach World Cup final with dominant performance | OneFootball

Spain have reached the 2026 World Cup final with a 2-0 win over France in Miami, confirming their spot in back-to-back major tournament finals.

Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute, firing into the top corner after Lamine Yamal won the spot kick. It was Pedro Porro who doubled his side’s lead on the hour mark, when he calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to round off a superb passing move from La Roja.

France huffed and puffed, but they were unable to find the net, meaning it’s Spain who will be heading to New Jersey on Sunday.

As it happened

Luis de la Fuente named an unchanged XI from Spain’s dramatic 2-1 win over Belgium last time out, whilst France named two changes to their side after overcoming Morocco in the quarter-finals. Desiré Doué and Kouadio Koné were replaced by Aurélien Tchouaméni and Bradley Barcola.

It was Barcola who looked to fashion the first chance of the game, bursting beyond the defence before winning a corner which saw Adrien Rabiot skew a volley wide. Spain’s first shot at goal also came from a set-piece, after Dani Olmo was brought down on the edge of the box, with Rabiot receiving a yellow card for the foul. However, Álex Baena fired straight into the wall.

Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé broke with ferocity for France in the 15th minute; however, the latter was crowded out by the Spanish defence before he was able to get a shot away.

Minutes later, the referee pointed to the spot to award Spain a penalty without any hesitation after Lucas Digne was deemed to have fouled Yamal. Oyarzabal stepped up to the plate and fired into the top right corner with power to convert the chance.

Les Bleus were forced into their first change on the half-hour mark, when William Saliba was forced off through injury and replaced by Maxence Lacroix. Another yellow card followed moments later, when Marc Cucurella fouled Michael Olise on the touchline.

Barcola looked to drive France forwards again with 10 minutes of the first-half remaining, but perhaps made the wrong decision when he ignored Digne’s overlapping run before firing over from the edge of the area. We saw the full extent of tiki-taka minutes later, when Spain latched on to a loose pass from Mike Maignan before putting together a beautiful passing move and winning a corner, which was ultimately wasted.

It looked as though France were going to get their equaliser shortly before the break when Mbappé was played in on goal, but Unai Simón flew off his line to make an exquisite challenge and protect his side’s lead, bringing the first half to a close with France yet to spark into life.

Rabiot was withdrawn at half-time in favour of Koné, whilst a slight tactical tweak saw Dembélé move more centrally and Olise operate in a wide role. Oyazarbal looked for his second of the game in the 52nd minute, this time from outside the area, but he couldn’t find the target.

France’s third change saw Doué replace Barcola, as they continued the search for a leveller. However, it was Spain who got the next goal, when Porro tucked the ball into the bottom corner to round off another lovely passing move.

Yamal had the ball in the net for Spain once again moments later, but he was ruled offside. France won a string of corners in the 64th minute, as they looked to get back in the game; however, Tchouaméni flicked over from close range.

Mbappé took aim shortly after, as they continued to push, but Cucurella put in a strong block on the edge of the box. The second half hydration break followed, with France yet to register a shot on target. Deschamps’ final changes saw Theo Hernández and Rayan Cherki replace Digne and Olise. Spain also made a change, with Ferran Torres replacing Oyarzabal.

El Clásico reached the World Cup with 15 minutes remaining, when Yamal mis-timed his sliding challenge and fouled Mbappé in a wide area, and received a yellow card for his troubles. A double change followed for La Roja as Mikel Merino and Pedri replaced Fabián Ruiz and Olmo.

Hernández looked to create an opening for France five minutes later, but his low cross was easily dealt with by Simón. Simón was much less assured moments later, flying off his line to meet the ball but only heading it as far as Doué, who was unable to convert the opportunity.

Porro and Baena were next to make way for Spain, as Nico Williams and Marcos Llorente were introduced to proceedings as de la Fuente’s men looked to see out the remainder of the game. Mbappé was added to the referee’s notebook shortly after for an off-the-ball clash with Simón.

Yamal conceded another free-kick in the 87th minute, this time fouling Doué just a yard or two outside the box. Mbappé took on the strike, but it didn’t trouble the goalkeeper, rather summing up France’s evening. At the other end of the pitch, Spain saw appeals for a second penalty waved away by the referee.

Cucurella was simply sensational throughout this match, which was further emphasised when he halted Mbappé yet again in the 90th minute, as he looked to pull the trigger.

Spain controlled the seven additional minutes and secured their spot at MetLife Stadium this Sunday, where they will take on Argentina or England in their first World Cup final since their 2010 triumph in South Africa.