The match between Spain and France, valid for the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup this Tuesday (14/07), will pit two of the main teams on the European continent in recent years. And if it depends on recent retrospect, Lamine Yamal and company have plenty of reasons to believe in their place for the big decision. In recent history, Spain has had the upper hand in direct confrontations.
Spain is France's biggest thorn in the side in recent clashes. Understand!
The match between Spain and France, valid for the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup this Tuesday (14/07), will pit two of the main teams on the European continent in recent years. And if it depends on recent retrospect,...
In the last two knockout games between the two teams, Spain came out on top in all of them. In 2024, the teams faced each other in the semifinals of the European Championship and, with a historic goal from Lamine Yamal, at that time just 16 years old, “La Roja” won the match against Kylian Mbappé's team and reached the final of the competition, which became four-time champions by defeating England in the final.
A year later the confrontation took place again and once again in a semi-final: the League of Nations. Spain started by running over France, making it a resounding 5-1. However, France reacted in the match and scored 3 goals, reducing the difference to 5-4. The late reaction, however, was insufficient to qualify the “Bleus” for the big decision. In the final, however, Spain ended up defeated by Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal on penalties.
Another confrontation that shows recent Spanish superiority was in the Olympic gold decision at the Paris 2024 Games. The match, it is worth noting, is not counted as a professional game, since the countries mainly call up players from the under-23 category.
However, several players who ended up called up for this year's World Cup, such as Doué, Koné, Cherki, Akliouche and Mateta, from France, and Eric García, Joan García, Pubill, Baena and Cubarsí, from Spain, were on the field. On French soil, Spain prevailed and won the hitherto unprecedented Olympic gold with a shower of goals: 5-3.
In the overall record, Spain also has an advantage: 18 wins, 7 draws and 13 defeats in 38 games played between the two teams. But in the only World Cup clash, France came out on top. In 2006, led by Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, France beat Spain 3-1 in the round of 16 and advanced to the next stage in the German Cup. After eliminating Brazil in the quarterfinals and Portugal in the semis, the “Bleus” ended up finishing runners-up to Italy and losing on penalties.
Spain achieved the dreamed world title four years later with a good part of that generation that suffered the first and, to date, only elimination for their rival in the World Cup.
Source:
Nortão News