France and Spain: A Battle for History at the 2026 World Cup

France and Spain will meet in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, July 14, at Dallas Stadium. Kickoff is set for 22:00 local time, with Salvadoran referee Iván Barton in charge. The match will be broadcast live on MEGOGO. France enter the match on a six-match winning streak at this tournament. After a 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Morocco, Les Bleus can become only the second European team after Italy (1934–1938) to win seven consecutive matches at a single World Cup. Should Didier Deschamps' side overcome Spain, they would join Germany and Brazil as the third nation to reach three straight finals. Spain, meanwhile, have conceded just one goal in the tournament — a quarterfinal strike by Belgium — and still managed to advance. La Roja are appearing in only their second World Cup semifinal. Over the past 27 major tournament matches, they have lost just once (16 wins, 10 draws), falling 2-1 to Japan in Qatar 2022. The head-to-head record heavily favors Spain: in the last ten meetings, France have won only twice, drawn once, and lost seven times — including narrow defeats in the 2024/25 Nations League semifinal and the Euro 2024 semifinal. When it comes to extra time and penalties, France have lost one match in extra time over the past 20 years, won one penalty shootout, and lost three. Spain have lost three penalty shootouts but also won three, and have won three matches in extra time. Probable lineups: France: Maignan — Koundé, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne — Koné, Rabiot — Dembélé, Olise, Doué — Mbappé. Spain: Simón — Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella — Rodri, Ruiz — Yamal, Olmo, Baena — Oyarzabal. Odds: France win — 2.33, Spain win — 3.20, draw in regular time — 3.33.