France vs Spain Semi-Final Preview: A Century-Old Rivalry, But Only Their Second World Cup Meeting

France and Spain meet in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final on July 15, a heavyweight European clash that is, remarkably, only the second time these two nations have ever faced each other at a World Cup.

Their solitary previous meeting at the tournament came in the round of 16 back in 2006, when France ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane, after David Villa had put Spain ahead. Spain have never beaten France at a World Cup, which makes this semi-final new territory for both sides in terms of World Cup history between them, even though they have plenty of history elsewhere.

Away from World Cups, this is one of European football's fiercest rivalries, and Spain hold the overall bragging rights. Across 38 meetings in all competitions, Spain have won 18 to France's 13, with 7 draws. Spain have also won the two most recent competitive meetings between the sides, including a 2-1 win over France in the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final, where a teenage Lamine Yamal announced himself on the big stage with a spectacular, record-breaking equaliser.

Spain's edge extends across the bigger tournaments too, with wins over France at Euro 1984, Euro 2000, Euro 2012, Euro 2020, Euro 2024 and in the Nations League all forming part of a rivalry that has swung firmly in La Roja's favour in the competitive era. France did go decades without losing a competitive fixture to Spain, a streak that only ended when Spain won 2-0 in the Euro 2012 quarter-final.

Both sides arrive in excellent form. France have been the tournament's most defensively solid side, not conceding a single goal across their last three matches, while Spain have shown they can grind out knockout football, beating Portugal 1-0 in the round of 16 before Mikel Merino struck an 88th-minute winner to see off Belgium in the quarter-final. With history tilted toward Spain and both teams playing knockout football on merit, this looks set to be one of the ties of the round.