Live Match: France vs Spain — FIFA World Cup Semifinal Showdown

Spain's attack is halted at the hour mark as Lamine Yamal is flagged for offside.

Pedro Porro puts Spain 2-0 up in the 57th minute! The right-back unleashed a powerful right-footed strike from the centre of the box, sending it into the bottom-right corner. Dani Olmo delivered a brilliant assist. Spain have been completely in control throughout, absorbing France's pressure and pushing forward with calm efficiency whenever they chose to. Olmo found pockets of space between France's defensive lines and threaded the ball through precisely to pick out Porro's overlapping run — the full-back finished the chance without any hesitation.

Álex Baena of Spain drives a right-footed attempt from outside the box, but the shot is blocked before it can trouble the keeper. The chance was created by Dani Olmo.

Unai Simon is producing arguably his finest performance of this World Cup campaign, reading the game brilliantly and positioning himself to near perfection. His display tonight explains exactly why coach de la Fuente opted for him over Premier League Golden Glove winner Raya and Barcelona shot-stopper Joan Garcia. Simon has been bold off his line and has pulled off crucial interceptions at key moments.

France make a change in the 56th minute, bringing on Désiré Doué to replace Bradley Barcola.

Spain's forward momentum is checked again as Álex Baena is caught offside in the 55th minute.

Yamal again burns forward with blistering acceleration, but Kone throws himself into a desperate challenge at the last moment to snuff out the Spanish threat.

France have adopted a more muscular approach after the break, attempting to reclaim possession through forceful and assertive challenges on Spain's players.

Mikel Oyarzabal tries his luck from range with his left foot, but the effort sails over the crossbar. Álex Baena had created the opening for the Spain forward.

Lamine Yamal is flagged offside once more at the 50-minute mark. Porro had played him in with a through ball sending him charging towards goal, but Yamal was found to be fractionally ahead of the defensive line.

Maxence Lacroix of France gives away a foul, handing Spain a free kick.

Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) has been awarded a free kick inside the defensive half.

Fabián Ruiz (Spain) is penalized for committing a foul.

Dayot Upamecano (France) wins a free kick deep inside the defensive half.

The second half is now in progress, with France trailing Spain by a single goal — 0-1.

France make a change at the break, introducing Manu Koné for Adrien Rabiot. The switch was hardly a surprise — the AC Milan midfielder had already collected a yellow card for one reckless challenge and narrowly avoided a second booking in another incident. Head coach Didier Deschamps is looking to bring greater composure and structure to his side's midfield.

The statistical breakdown from the first half between France and Spain is displayed in the graphic above.

France never managed to produce the razor-sharp attacking instinct they are known for across the opening 45 minutes, spending long spells defending deep in their own half.

The first half draws to a close with Spain in front. Lucas Digne's misjudgement of an aerial ball handed Spain a fortunate penalty, though their disciplined possession game and aggressive pressing also created uncomfortable spells for France. The French side generated some promise on the counter-attack, but wayward passing and a lack of cohesion in the attacking third meant clear-cut chances were almost non-existent.

Jules Koundé wins a free kick for France out on the right-hand side.

Spain's Álex Baena is penalised for a foul.

The opening half painted the picture of a French side capable of quality moments but unable to sustain them. The lapses in build-up passing were particularly striking — a world away from the sharp, well-drilled transitions that had defined their World Cup run up to this point.

France's Adrien Rabiot is caught in an offside position and the move breaks down.

Jules Koundé of France is penalised for a foul, surrendering a free kick.

Spain's Álex Baena earns his side a free kick inside their own defensive half.

The fourth official holds up the board indicating that 6 additional minutes will be played at the end of the first half.

France midfielder Adrien Rabiot gives away possession after being called for a foul.

Fabián Ruiz wins a free kick for Spain inside their own defensive half.

The stoppage is over and both sides are ready to continue the match.

Play comes to a brief halt due to a situation on the Spain side.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon produced a brave intervention, bursting off his line and out beyond the penalty area to snuff out what appeared to be a golden opportunity for Mbappé.

The interruption is over and the match is back in motion.

The game is temporarily paused as Spain defender Aymeric Laporte receives attention on the pitch for an injury.

France are given a corner kick after Spain's Pau Cubarsí turns the ball behind his own line.

France appear to be treating this as a long-haul battle, keeping their heads rather than desperately throwing men forward despite being behind. However, goalkeeper Maignan has looked nervy at times, losing the ball cheaply in dangerous positions close to his own goal.

Kylian Mbappé (France) is caught offside, bringing yet another French attack to a sudden halt. Spain's defensive unit has been shrewd in deploying the offside trap to repeatedly cut out France's forward runs.

France captain Kylian Mbappé is flagged for straying offside, cutting short a French move.

Rodri (Spain) gives away a foul and is penalized by the referee.

Michael Olise (France) is given a free kick in the defensive half.

Lucas Digne (France) wins a free kick inside the defensive half.

Lamine Yamal (Spain) is penalized for committing a foul.

Spain are awarded a corner kick after Dayot Upamecano (France) puts the ball behind.

Fabián Ruiz (Spain) fires a left-footed shot from inside the penalty area, but it is blocked by the French defense. The assist came from Lamine Yamal. The build-up featured a sharp one-two passing exchange involving Ruiz, Yamal and Olmo — a textbook showcase of Spain's intricate link-up play — though Ruiz's eventual finish was fractionally off target.

Pedro Porro (Spain) gets off a right-footed attempt from beyond the box, but the ball flies high and wide to the left. Fabián Ruiz had set up the opportunity with his pass.

France are putting in a great deal of physical effort to win the ball and disrupt Spain's flowing possession game, yet their distribution has not been sharp enough to convert that pressure into genuine scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, young defender Pau Cubarsí demonstrated impressive game intelligence, reading the situation expertly to cut out a perfectly-threaded pass aimed at Mbappé and snuff out the danger before it could develop.

Bradley Barcola (France) attempts a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but the effort sails high and wide to the right. The chance had been created by Ousmane Dembélé.

Michael Olise (France) wins a free kick out on the left flank.

Rodri (Spain) gives away a foul and is penalized.

Álex Baena (Spain) is flagged for being caught in an offside position.

Dani Olmo (Spain) gets off a right-footed shot from outside the penalty box, but the ball travels high and wide to the right. Fabián Ruiz had provided the assist.

Spain's Marc Cucurella gives away a foul, awarding France a free kick.

Michael Olise earns a free kick for France out on the right wing.

Marc Cucurella (Spain) is shown a yellow card by the referee after committing a foul deemed reckless and dangerous.

France are forced into an unplanned change in the 29th minute as William Saliba goes off with an injury, replaced by Maxence Lacroix. Saliba appeared to pull up without any contact from an opponent, pointing to a likely muscle problem. Lacroix faces a significant challenge walking into France's defensive line at such a critical stage of the match.

The delay has ended and both teams are back in action, with the match back underway.

Play has been briefly interrupted as both teams are allowed a short hydration break.

Goal! France 0, Spain 1. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) steps up and sends the ball into the top right corner of the net with a clinical left-footed strike. A commanding penalty from Oyarzabal, who now has five goals to his name at this tournament, as Spain open the scoring in the semifinal.

Lucas Digne (France) was penalised for a foul inside the penalty area. Marc Cucurella whipped in a long cross that bypassed every Spanish player in the box, but Digne, in his attempt to deal with it, misjudged the ball entirely and made contact with Lamine Yamal inside the area. The referee immediately pointed to the spot.

Spain have won a penalty. Lamine Yamal was fouled inside the penalty box.

France are becoming an increasingly threatening force as the match progresses. Their sharp counter-attacking play, built on rapid transitions and precise passing, is creating real danger, though Spain's defence has managed to repel every attempt so far.

France earn a corner kick. Pau Cubarsí is judged to have last touched the ball before it went out.

France's Michael Olise is penalised for a foul.

Rodri of Spain is handed a free kick in the forward half.

Álex Baena of Spain fires a right-footed effort from distance, but the attempt is blocked before it can reach goal.

Adrien Rabiot of France is shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. Lunging in recklessly at the edge of his own box in a bid to dispossess Olmo, Rabiot's mistimed challenge only results in handing Spain a threatening set-piece opportunity.

The opening exchanges have already sketched out how both teams intend to play. Spain are focused on dominating possession, packing the midfield with numbers and working openings from there. France, by contrast, are happy to absorb pressure and look to break quickly when they win the ball back. No clear chances have come for either side yet, but the tactical intentions on both ends are unmistakable.

Adrien Rabiot of France gives away a free kick after committing a foul.

Dani Olmo of Spain earns a free kick in the opposing half.

Adrien Rabiot unleashed a left-footed effort from outside the penalty area following a corner, but the shot drifted wide to the left and failed to trouble the goalkeeper.

France were awarded a corner after Pau Cubarsí gave it away.

The extraordinary calibre of both squads is captured in a single detail: France have 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele in their starting lineup, while Spain field 2024 winner Rodri in theirs.

Spain have once more opted for PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz over Barcelona's creative fulcrum Pedri. Pedri's displays during this tournament have not lived up to the lofty standards he normally maintains, while Ruiz has more than justified coach De La Fuente's faith by scoring the opening goal against Belgium. At his sharpest, Pedri is an unruffled, rhythm-setting force in central midfield — but the physical demands of a gruelling club season, compounded by injury, have left their mark on his World Cup performances. Even so, De La Fuente is widely expected to turn to him after the break.

The first half is now underway. The fact that France and Spain are clashing on Bastille Day — the 14th of July — lends a particularly charged atmosphere to what was already anticipated to be an electric encounter.

The question at the heart of this semifinal is a compelling one: will it be the polished, free-flowing French — who have dispatched most opponents without much strain — who prevail, or will Spain's suffocating press, ball-dominant system and the tournament's stingiest defence (conceding only once in six matches) carry the day? Head to our special data-driven piece for an in-depth look at all four semifinalists — France, Spain, Argentina and England — examining their key strengths and the paths that brought them to the last four.

TrendKia brings you live updates from the opening semifinal of the FIFA World Cup. FIFA's number-one ranked nation, France, are set to face third-placed Spain in what looks certain to be a captivating contest. What makes this edition particularly remarkable is that all four countries currently occupying the top positions in FIFA's global rankings have advanced to the final four of this tournament.

France have brought Bradley Barcola back into their attack and recalled Aurelien Tchouameni to midfield for the World Cup semifinal against Spain, while coach Luis de la Fuente has opted to keep his starting eleven completely unchanged. Desire Doue has been shifted to the bench, with Barcola slotting in alongside Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and skipper Kylian Mbappe to make up the French attacking unit. Tchouameni, who sat out France's last two matches through injury, is fit once more and will operate in the heart of midfield alongside Adrien Rabiot. Spain retain Fabian Ruiz in their midfield trio with Rodri and Dani Olmo, while Pedri is once again left to settle for a place on the bench. Alex Baena gets the nod to start up front, lining up beside Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal in the Spanish attack.

Both teams have officially unveiled their starting lineups and the players are already out on the pitch going through their pre-game warm-up routines. France: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappe (captain). Spain: Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri (captain), Fabian Ruiz, Dani Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal.