&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "France vs Spain, World Cup Semifinal: Head-to-head record, 2006 drama, and recent history")
France and Spain, the two heavyweights of world football and top contenders for a World Cup crown in North America, will face off in the first semifinal on Wednesday (Jul 15). They will meet only for the second time in the tournament’s history and the first since their only face-off during the 2006 edition. France and Spain have both won the coveted prize. While France is a two-time winner (1998 and 2018), Spain won its only FIFA World Cup in 2010 in South Africa.
With the two fighting for a spot in the final this time, we take a look at their recent history, overall head-to-head record and what happened during their last World Cup meet-up 20 years ago.
What happened in 2006?
France and Spain met in a high-stakes Round of 16 match in the 2006 World Cup, where Spain opened the scoring through David Villa’s penalty in the 28th minute. Les Bleus then made a stunning comeback in the match, with winger Franck Ribéry equalising right before the half-time break. France carried the momentum in the second half and struck two more goals through Patrick Vieira (83rd minute) and Zinédine Zidane in stoppage time (92nd minute) to beat Spain and advance to the last four.
Although they failed to win the World Cup that year, with Italy walking out as eventual winners (by beating France in the final), France would like to get one step ahead this time when they face the Euro winners in a pulsating contest in Dallas.
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Overall record
While their World Cup history is brief, the two have faced off plenty of times over the years.
Having met 38 times in total, including during international friendlies and even at the Euros, Spain leads France (18-13) in the overall standings, with seven games ending in draws.
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FIFA World Cup 2026 Live on Zee5 Photograph: (WION)
Recent Meetings
France and Spain have met as recently as during the Nations League Cup semis in 2025, where Spain edged France 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller, powered by Lamine Yamal’s brace.
A year earlier, during the 2024 Euros semifinal, Spain beat France 2-1, with Yamal and Dani Olmo scoring.
The French side tasted success in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Final by beating Spain 2-1.
Meanwhile, at the FIFA World Cup, France captain and striker Kylian Mbappé jointly leads the goals tally with Argentine skipper Lionel Messi (eight goals each), who will face England in the other semifinal.
