Spain are one step closer to the 2026 World Cup trophy after pulling off a sensational victory over France on Tuesday evening.
Spain’s campaign quickly swung from frustration to reassurance after a shock goalless draw with Cape Verde was followed up by an emphatic 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Atlanta.
They then had no true incentive against Uruguay after guaranteeing a first-place finish in Group H but still won, despite a poor performance.
That victory set up a round of 32 tie against fellow Europeans Austria and Luis de la Fuente’s men faced very few issues in swatting Burschen aside.
Their Round of 16 tie with Portugal looked like a mouthwatering prospect but the reality was anything but. Neither side looked on top form but it was La Roja who were able to find a stoppage time winner to move into the quarter-final.
It was, again, a rather lacklustre match in the quarter-final too. Spain struggled to break Belgium down and it took two goalkeeping errors to gift them the win. That victory set up a semi-final appearance against France, where La Roja will need to look a lot more convincing.
However, things did improve in the semi-final for Spain as they put in by far their best showing of the tournament, at just the perfect time. La Roja managed a 2-0 win over France with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.
La Roja are aiming to win the World Cup for the second time in their history, having lifted the trophy in South Africa back in 2010. They arrived in North America among the favourites after an impressive run of tournament performances in recent years. Spain reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and then went one step further by winning Euro 2024, with their blend of technical control and emerging young talent making them one of the most balanced squads in the competition.
Spain odds to win the World Cup
After beginning at 4/1 as tournament favourites, Spain’s price dropped to around the 11/2 mark following the draw with Cape Verde in their opening game.
However, since then they have gradually shortened, after victory against France they are now priced around 4/6 to lift the trophy on Sunday. An implied probability of 60%.
Spain World Cup top goalscorer odds
Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace in the win over Austria took his tally to four goals and he made it five with the opener against France in the semi-final. However, as he is still three goals behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, his odds remain out at 50/1.
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