France - Spain: La Roja Sails To The Final

S pain once again pro­ ved to be the dream killer for the French senior men’s national team. La Roja beat Les Bleus 2-0 in the first semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 14, 2026, at Dallas Sta­ dium to claim one of the two available tickets in the final. To the surprise of many who had predicted a French vic­ tory, the match started poorly for France. France made two changes to its starting XI that comprehen­ sively beat Morocco in the quarterfinals: Bradley Barcola returned to the starting XI in place of Désiré Doué, while Aurélien Tchouaméni came into the team for Manu Koné. But these tactical changes did not pay off for Les Bleus, as Mikel Oyarzabal converted from the penalty spot to give the Spanish side the lead at the 22nd minute. France struggled to equalize while Spain remained compact and more concentrated, making it difficult for the French team to find openings. The night worsened for France when William Saliba went off with an injury barely 30 minutes into the first half. As expected, coach Didier Deschamps began to make changes in the second half. He brought in Koné for Rabiot and later introduced Désiré Doué for PSG teammate Bar­ cola. When many thought France would pick up the pace after these substitu­ tions, Spain made it 2-0 through Pedro Porro in the 58th minute, and a few mi­ nut...