We’re in the final week of the 2026 World Cup, and it’s time for the semifinals. And for the first time ever, the World Cup semifinals will be contested between the top 4 teams in the FIFA world rankings, which is how the bracket was set up. Still, the teams had to win their groups and beat the teams in front of them to get to this point. It’s also the first time since 1990 that the final four teams are all previous World Cup winners. Today, in the first semifinal, France will take on Spain to see
who heads to New Jersey and who will settle for Miami.
France got here by taking out Morocco in a match where it was sort of a struggle for Les Bleus, but they got the solid 2-0 win. Kylian Mbappé scored the opener, but he also left the game early after picking up a knock. He’s expected to be okay for the semifinal, but pressure will be on him and guys like Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise to produce on Bastille Day. They also have to be tight on defense to hold off Spain.
La Roja beat Belgium 2-1 in their quarterfinal match, and it was not easy. An 88th minute goal by Mikel Merino was the difference in that match, but Spain is back in the semifinals for the first time since they won it all in 2010. They have been very clean on defense, with Belgium being the only team that has scored a goal on Spain all tournament. They now have their toughest task yet of stopping France’s dynamic attack that has already scored 16 goals.
The winner of this match will advance to the World Cup final on Sunday in New Jersey, while the loser will fight it out for third place down in Miami on Saturday. This should be a great game…let’s see what unfolds.
How to watch
France vs. Spain
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Kick-off time: 3:00pm Eastern, 12:00pm Pacific
Available TV: Fox (English), Telemundo (Spanish)
Available streaming: Fox Sports (English), Fox One (English), Peacock (Spanish), FuboTV (Free Trial)
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