2026 WORLD CUP: France, Spain battle for Final ticket

2026 WORLD CUP: France, Spain battle for Final ticket

By Akeem Busari 

The battle for the grand prize as the world cup champions is just one step away. Four favourites are in the semi-finals, for the eyes catching duels, including current champions Argentina, last edition's finalists France, 2010 winners Spain and 1966 winners, England. 

The first semi-finals would see Spain battle France. France has been a very dominate in this world cup so far, and with the triad of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise taking all-comers to the cleaners along the journey. 

Spain has been a strongly bonded collective team with incredibly fluid and possession play, leading to this stage. 

Spain leads the all-time football head-to-head record against France with 18 wins to France's 13, alongside 7 draws across 38 total meetings. However, the fixture has been fiercely competitive recently, with Spain edging out France in their two most recent encounters (a 2-1 semi-final win at Euro 2024 and a 5-4 victory in the 2025 UEFA Nations League).

The historic rivalry spans nearly a century, with Spain dominating the earliest friendly meetings—including a massive 8-1 victory in 1929. In major tournament history, memorable clashes include France's 2-1 win in the Euro 2000 quarter-finals and Spain's 2-0 victory in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.