France 0–2 Spain: The Perfect Run Ends — Spain March Into the Final
Every great run ends somewhere, and this one ended without an argument. France — six wins from six, slayers of Morocco, the tournament's untouchable machine — were dismantled 2–0 by a Spain side that did to them what it has done to everyone: took the ball, took the sting, and took the result. Mikel Oyarzabal from the spot in the first half, Pedro Porro from Dani Olmo's pass in the second, and Spain will play for the crown at MetLife on July 19.
Control From the First Whistle
The billing promised a heavyweight collision — Spain's suffocating possession against France's lethal transitions. The reality was more one-sided than anyone dared predict. Spain simply refused France the ball, and without it the French machine's entire identity — Mbappé in space, runners beyond — never materialised.
The opener came from the game's rhythm rather than against it: a penalty won on 22 minutes, and Mikel Oyarzabal — the man whose goals have decorated Spain's biggest nights for years — converted without ceremony. 1–0, and France faced the exact match they least wanted: chasing a team that does not give the ball back.
Porro Ends the Argument
If the first goal bent the contest, the second broke it. On 58 minutes Dani Olmo — increasingly the tournament's quiet conductor — found Pedro Porro arriving from the right, and the finish flew past a French defence stretched beyond its limits. 2–0, and for the first time all summer, France looked mortal: no penalty-miss drama, no late siege, no miracle left in French pockets. Spain saw out the rest with the serenity of a team that has now beaten Portugal, Belgium and France back to back — and for once didn't even need the trademark late dagger to do it.
What It Means
For France, the end of the tournament they had owned: perfect through six games, conceding almost nothing, and now stopped cold by the one team in world football that can make possession feel like a cage. There is no shame — only the strange stillness of a machine finally switched off. The bronze match against England on July 18 is scant consolation, but this French core is not finished.
For Spain, everything is aligned: European champions, a knockout scalp list that now reads Portugal, Belgium, France — and the calm of a side that wins ugly late or wins clean early, whichever the night demands. Merino's daggers, Olmo's control, Oyarzabal's nerve: they reach the MetLife final with every argument on their side.
The final is set for Sunday, July 19. Spain will be there. France's perfect summer is over; Spain's biggest night is still ahead.
Follow the World Cup 2026 Final live on KickD — real-time scores, goal alerts, and original reports at the whistle, in English and Arabic.
