Spain booked their place in a second-ever World Cup final with an impressive 2-0 victory over fellow European giants France in Dallas.
Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro sealed a statement semi-final win to fire La Roja through to Sunday’s 2026 World Cup final, where they will face either England or Argentina.
Read on for the standout World Cup statistics and talking points you may have missed from Spain vs France.
Stats you might have missed from France vs Spain
Spain equal world record
- Spain equalled Italy’s World record of 37 games unbeaten.
Spain’s 2-0 victory over France not only propelled them into just their second ever World Cup final, but stretched their superb unbeaten run to 37 matches (excluding penalty shoot-outs) in all competitions.
This remarkable run drew Spain level with Italy’s undefeated 37 game world record, which the Italians achieved between 2018 and 2021.
La Roja, who haven’t lost since a defeat to Colombia in March 2024, can now set a new world record in the final.
On a side note, Spain are also enjoying an unbeaten run of 15 matches at major tournaments and have only been beaten once in their last 28 matches at major tournaments (W17 D10), excluding penalty shoot-outs.
Eight in a row for La Roja
- Spain became the first European country to win eight straight knockout matches at major tournaments.
Spain surpassed Italy’s run of seven wins a row from 1934-1938, and their own tally from 2008-2012, to record eight straight knockout stage wins on the spin, spread across Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026.
During this streak they beat Georgia (4-1), Germany (2-1), France (2-1), and England (2-1) en route to winning Euro 2024, and have gone on to overcome Austria (3-0), Portugal (1-0), Belgium (2-1), and France (2-0) en route to the 2026 World Cup final.
Ruiz & Yamal still unbeaten
- Fabian Luiz (49 matches) and Lamine Yamal (27) have still never lost a game for Spain.
That’s right, the Spanish duo have never lost an international match for Spain.
Fabian Ruiz stretched his unbeaten run to 49 matches, consisting of 34 wins and 15 draws, while Lamine Yamal has played 27 times for La Roja, during which he’s been a part of 21 wins and six draws.
Furthermore, Yamal has ended up on the winning side of all 12 matches he’s started at major tournaments across the European Championships – winning Euro 2024 – and the current World Cup.
Meanwhile, Ruiz (16) and Yamal (14) are joined by three other teammates – Aymeric Laporte (22), Mikel Oyarzabal (20), and Mikel Merino (14) – with the most major tournament appearances from European players without losing a single game.
Dominant De la Fuente
- Spain manager Luis de la Fuente extended his own unbeaten record at major tournaments to 14 matches without defeat.
Speaking of unbeaten runs, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente is still unbeaten at major tournaments, guiding La Roja through his first 14 matches across the European Championship and World Cup without tasting defeat once.
De la Fuente led Spain to Euro 2024 glory with a seven-game unbeaten run and has now led his country to the World Cup final after going six games without defeat.
Spain’s record clean sheet tally
- Spain became the first country to keep six clean sheets at a single World Cup, conceding just one goal so far this tournament.
Spain have earned widespread praise throughout the tournament for their exceptional organisation, cohesion, and ability to restrict opponents to very few clear-cut chances.
La Roja have conceded just once on their route to the World Cup final – in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Belgium – and have kept a record six clean sheets in a single edition of the World Cup, which included restricting France’s fabled frontline to an xG tally of just 0.3.
Oyarzabal joins duo
- Mikel Oyarzabal has equalled Emilio Butragueno (1986) and David Villa (2010) for the most goals (5) scored for Spain at a single World Cup.
Mikel Oyarzabal has been one of Spain’s stars at the 2026 World Cup, leading La Roja’s scoring charts with five goals in seven matches, including a penalty in the 2-0 defeat of France.
As a result, he became only the third Spanish player in history to score five goals at a single World Cup after Emilio Butragueno (1986) and David Villa (2010).
Oyarzabal’s form has extended beyond the tournament too, having scored 18 goals in his last 19 starts for Spain. Another strike against France would
Spain love a semi-final
- Spain have now won eight of the last 11 meetings between the countries, including three straight semi-finals.
Spain have won 19, drawn seven, and lost 13 of the 39 clashes with France.
La Roja have been particularly dominant over the course of the last 11 meetings between the countries, of which they’ve won eight, which includes three straight semi-final victories at Euro 2024, Nations League 2025, and now World Cup 2026.
In fact, Spain can draw on a very impressive semi-final record in general, having progressed from seven of their eight last-four appearances at major tournaments.
Rodri’s passing masterclass
- Rodri leads the way at the 2026 World Cup for attempted passes (705), completed passes (655), and final third passes completed (173).
Rodri looks to be back to his best after a difficult couple of years ravaged by injury.
The former Ballon d’Or winner has been exceptional this tournament, running the show from the middle of the park, where he’s both attempted (705) and completed (655) the most passes at the 2026 World Cup so far. He also leads the way for final third passes completed (173).
Rodri completed 58 passes, had a pass accuracy of 86.57%, won 11 duels, made four tackles, and won all four aerial duels in the win against France.
History for Deschamps despite defeat
- Didier Deschamps took charge of his 26th World Cup match as a manager, surpassing Helmut Schon’s record of 25.
Didier Deschamps surpassed Helmut Schon’s record of 25 matches managed at the World Cup to set a new record of 26 games managed at the tournament, which he is set to extend to 27 in the third-place play-off against either England or Argentina, in what will be his final game in charge of Les Bleus.
Deschamps also holds the record for most matches won (20) at the World Cup.
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