France eliminated from World Cup semifinal after Spain victory

By Sanjay Menon — 15 July 2026 — 3 min read

France faced elimination from the World Cup after a 2-0 defeat to Spain in the semifinal. This result marked France’s first loss of the tournament, following a campaign where they had secured six consecutive victories.

Before the semifinal match, France had demonstrated a strong performance, winning all six of their previous matches, scoring 16 goals, and conceding only two. They had also maintained clean sheets in all three of their knockout games, which included a 3-0 win over Sweden, a 1-0 victory against Paraguay, and a 2-0 quarter-final success over Morocco.

Mbappé’s Tournament Performance and Semifinal Challenges

Kylian Mbappé was a central figure for France throughout the tournament. Leading up to the semifinal, he had recorded eight goals and three assists, contributing to 11 of France’s 16 goals. This represented a contribution rate of nearly 69 per cent. He was also the leading scorer in the tournament based on the assists tiebreaker, and offered significant creativity.

However, in the semifinal against Spain, Mbappé found it challenging to create opportunities. Spain effectively controlled the match, limiting Mbappé’s access to the ball in key areas where he had previously been effective. He had the fewest touches among forwards in the first half.

Mbappé’s best chance in the match came in the 67th minute, but his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went wide. Spain had already established a two-goal lead by this point.

Match Incidents and Post-Match Reaction

Spain’s first goal came from a penalty kick in the 22nd minute, converted by Mikel Oyarzabal, after a foul by Lucas Digne on Lamine Yamal. Mbappé attempted to persuade the referee, Ivan Barton, that the penalty should not have been awarded, but the decision stood.

In the 86th minute, Mbappé received a yellow card after colliding with Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon as Simon bent to pick up the ball. Mbappé acknowledged the team’s performance, stating, "When you don’t win … it’s part of the game. As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility, and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go."

He also commented on Spain’s control of the game, noting, "It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball. That’s what we let them do. We let the midfield too much time to play, and at the end of the day they had quality to play. It’s difficult when you don’t change the play of Spain. We weren’t at the level to go to the final."

Spain midfielder Rodri highlighted the importance of focus against France, stating, "They (France) can punish you at every single moment, so I think the focus in every single minute was key in this game. Unbelievable effort by everyone."

Tournament Format and Its Impact

The single-elimination format of the World Cup means that one defeat can end a team’s campaign, regardless of prior strong performances. France’s defeat, despite their six previous victories, illustrates this aspect of the tournament.

Mbappé, who scored eight goals in the previous World Cup in Qatar where France lost in the final, remains in contention for the Golden Boot award in the current tournament. He and Lionel Messi each have eight goals, with Mbappé holding a 3-2 lead in assists as the tiebreaker. Mbappé started the match against Spain after exiting in the 77th minute of his team’s 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco, where he scored his eighth goal of the tournament.

Source: hindustantimes.com