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Spain in WC final at France's cost

Wednesday, 15 July 2026


Spain comfortably saw off France on Wednesday (BST) to reach only the second World Cup final in their history, report agencies.
France were favourites to win the tournament and lit up the early stages of this World Cup, but Spain never allowed them to click into gear as they secured victory.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the spot after Lucas Digne brought down Lamine Yamal, before Pedro Porro made sure of the win with a brilliant second goal.
Spain will face either England or reigning champions Argentina as they seek to win the World Cup for a second time. France will contest Saturday's third-place play-off.
Pedro Porro scored Spain's second goal, capping a terrific performance that earned him the Player of the Match award.
Here is what he told Television Espanola after the game.
"It's a dream come true. Never in my wildest dreams really. I'm so happy for the attitude of the team, from the start to finish. We played a great game. We did everything we knew we needed to do today to get through.
"We knew they were a very difficult team to play, had been going really well until now. This is all down to the team, I can't take credit. I just congratulate everyone as they played great games.
"We knew that to get close to the final we needed to have the ball. We knew that to counter their strengths that was key. And we did that. So we're really happy."
There has been an expectation before every game that Lamine Yamal will reproduce his Euro 2024 form, yet he has not quite reached those heights. It felt as though he would need to deliver for Spain to progress, but they prevailed with the Barcelona winger still some way short of his scintillating best.
A day after his 19th birthday, Yamal remains on one goal and no assists at this World Cup. A stunning finish that would have put Spain 3-0 ahead was correctly ruled out for offside after he mistimed his run.
Even so, few would bet against him delivering a masterclass in Sunday's final.