{"id":7482,"date":"2026-07-15T05:34:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7482"},"modified":"2026-07-15T05:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T05:34:27","slug":"spain-topples-france-to-return-to-world-cup-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7482","title":{"rendered":"Spain topples France to return to World Cup final"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2-0 victory sends La Roja back to the final for the first time since 2010, when it won the country\u2019s only World Cup title.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Cease, bullpen combine on 3-hitter in AL\u2019s 4-0 win, first All-Star shutout since 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
They’re happy in Madrid. (Susana Vera\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

For the first time in 16 years, Spain is headed to the World Cup final, carried by a new generation that has restored La Roja to the sport\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

Spain beat France, 2-0, in Tuesday\u2019s semifinal in Arlington, Texas, knocking out perhaps the tournament\u2019s best player, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a>, and one of the defining powers of modern World Cup soccer. The victory sends Spain back to the final for the first time since 2010, when it won the country\u2019s only World Cup title and completed one of the most celebrated eras in international soccer history.<\/p>\n

Mikel Oyarzabal converted a first-half penalty for Spain after Lucas Digne collided with Lamine Yamal inside the box in the match. It was Oyarzabal\u2019s fifth goal of the tournament. Pedro Porro booted in a second goal in the 58th minute to give La Roja some second-half breathing room.<\/p>

Read more Tigers star Justin Verlander pumps up American League in his final All-Star Game<\/a><\/p>\n

This Spanish team, stationed at perhaps the best appointed Embassy Suites in the world<\/a>, has built a different kind of run, less tied to the old golden generation than to a new wave that has restored Spain\u2019s place among the sport\u2019s elite. On Tuesday, Spain posted its sixth clean sheet of the tournament and held off a French team that had cruised through this tournament and was trying to become the first men\u2019s team since Brazil in 2002 to reach three straight World Cup finals.<\/p>\n

Spain will face the winner of Wednesday\u2019s semifinal matchup, between Argentina and England, on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. <\/i>Sign up for The 7 newsletter<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>

Read more Rays slugger Junior Caminero feels fortunate left hand not broken after he was hit in All-Star Game<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2-0 victory sends La Roja back to the final for the first time since 2010, when it won the country\u2019s only World Cup title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSpain topples France to return to World Cup final - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7482\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spain topples France to return to World Cup final - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2-0 victory sends La Roja back to the final for the first time since 2010, when it won the country\u2019s only World Cup title.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7482\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-15T05:34:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fa9bb7ec94250eef9c96bc7f46bec54f-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Spain topples France to return to World Cup final\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-15T05:34:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482\"},\"wordCount\":367,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3bc9791c0db85b8a57284381c4bb1044-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=7482\",\"name\":\"Spain topples France to return to World Cup final - 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