Spain Smashes Records in Dominant Win Over France

Spain's Streak Continues to Grow
This marks Spain's second appearance in a World Cup final and their first since lifting the trophy back in 2010. They now have a shot at joining a very exclusive club — only Spain (2008-10) and West Germany (1972-74) have ever won a European Championship and followed it up with the next World Cup title. Should they win it all, they'd become the third team in history to pull that off.

Spain's knockout-stage form at the World Cup is equally staggering. They haven't lost a single knockout game since being knocked out by France back in the 2006 Round of 16, stretching their unbeaten run in that stage to 10 matches (eight wins, two draws, including shootout results counted as draws). Zoom out further, and Spain's overall unbeaten streak across all competitions now sits at 37 games, matching Italy's 2018-21 run for the longest unbeaten streak by a European nation in men's international football.

Head-to-head, Spain has now beaten France in four of their last five knockout meetings across all competitions, with France's only win coming in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final. Goalkeeper Unai Simón also etched his name into the history books, recording his sixth clean sheet of the tournament — the most by any goalkeeper in a single World Cup — while Spain became the first team ever to register six shutout wins in one edition of the tournament.

France's Rough Night, By the Numbers
For France, this was about as bad as it gets. Their expected goals tally against Spain sat at just 0.30, their lowest in a World Cup match in six decades. Their run of six straight World Cup wins came crashing to a halt, and their streak of scoring in 10 consecutive World Cup matches — second only to Argentina's active streak of 15 — also ended.

France also missed out on a chance to become just the third nation to reach back-to-back World Cup finals, following in the footsteps of West Germany (1982-1990) and Brazil (1994-2002). Digging into their recent record against Spain, France has now lost eight of their last 11 meetings in all competitions. This defeat was also their heaviest in a World Cup knockout match since losing 0-2 to West Germany in the 1986 semifinals.

On an individual level, Kylian Mbappé had a night to forget. Despite finishing the tournament with eight goals and still holding the edge over Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race on assists, Mbappé failed to register a single shot on target — his first such game in nine World Cup appearances since the 2022 quarterfinal against England. Since his move to Real Madrid, Mbappé has now lost every knockout fixture, club or country, that he's played against Lamine Yamal.

Standout Performers and Milestones
Mikel Oyarzabal had a tournament to remember, becoming just the third Spanish player to score five or more goals at a single World Cup, joining David Villa (2010) and Emilio Butragueño (1986) in that company. His goal against France was also his 30th for the national team, moving him past Fernando Hierro's 29 to become Spain's sixth-highest scorer of all time.

Spain also became the most prolific penalty-scoring nation in World Cup history, netting their 17th spot-kick to move past both England and France, who sit on 16. Dani Olmo continued his fine tournament too, with his latest assist bringing him level with Cesc Fàbregas for the most assists by a Spanish player at major tournaments since 1980. Pedro Porro, meanwhile, became just the fifth defender in 60 years to score multiple knockout-stage goals in a single World Cup.

There was also a bit of history for the youngsters. At 19 years and one day old, Lamine Yamal became the second-youngest player in six decades to score a penalty in a World Cup knockout match, behind only England's Michael Owen, who did so at 18 years and 198 days during the 1998 Round of 16 against Argentina. Yamal and teammate Pau Cubarsí were also two of just seven teenagers ever to start a World Cup semifinal.