World Cup LIVE: France and Spain facing off in blockbuster semi-final

France fans gather in Texas ahead of the World Cup semi-final with Spain
France fans gather in Texas ahead of the World Cup semi-final with SpainSAM WASSON / EPA / Profimedia

The 2026 World Cup semi-finals are here, and the first of them pits perhaps the two most impressive teams of the tournament against one another, with France facing off with Spain.

Today's match:

France vs Spain - 21:00 CET

Key updates:

14:25 CET - Les Bleus and La Roja are very much familiar foes, having faced off twice in the last two years.

Spain prevailed on both occasions, winning a cagey Euro 2024 semi-final 2-1 before prevailing in a nine-goal Nations League epic last year.

France did win two of the three matches prior to those ones though, and also triumphed the last time they faced off at a World Cup, with Zinedine Zidane - their next manager - leading them to glory in a clash of generations 20 years ago.

You can relive that clash here.

France and Spain's most recent clashes
France and Spain's most recent clashesFlashscore

13:00 CET - Hello and welcome to Flashscore's coverage of the first semi-final of the 2026 World Cup!

We're just hours away from what many are dubbing the final before the final, with arguably the two most impressive teams of the tournament doing battle in Texas.

France have stormed their way through the tournament, scoring 16 goals and conceding just two on their journey to the final four. They look particularly formidable in attack, with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise all delivering.

However, they'll today be facing a Spain side that has let in just one goal at this tournament and just three in their last 12 competitive fixtures. The reigning European champions may not have dazzled as much as Les Bleus, but they've always looked in control.

We'll be bringing you all the build-up and everything you need to know right here over the next few hours, and you can also check out our in-house preview of the clash here.

Flashscore
France vs Spain preview