France Eliminated from FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinals by Spain
Kathmandu. France's dream of reaching the final for the third consecutive time has ended after losing 2-0 to Spain in the first semifinal match of the FIFA World Cup 2026. France was eliminated from the competition due to their inability to break through the Spanish defense on the Dallas field and goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro. With this defeat, France's journey in the semifinals has ended with a shock this time, having played in the semifinals for the eighth time in World Cup history.
France's history in the World Cup semifinals has been quite interesting and full of ups and downs. France made its first semifinal journey in the 1958 Sweden World Cup, where it finished third after losing heavily 2-5 to the then-strong Brazil. After that, in the 1980s, France faced defeat in the semifinals twice consecutively. In the 1982 World Cup held in Spain, France lost to West Germany in a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time in a penalty shootout, finishing fourth. Four years later, in the 1986 Mexico World Cup, West Germany again stopped France in the semifinals with a 2-0 victory, pushing them to third place.
France's luck, after suffering three consecutive semifinal defeats, changed in the 1998 World Cup held in their own country. That year, by defeating Croatia 2-1 in the semifinals, France reached the final for the first time and finally won its historic first title. After that, France started proving to be very dangerous in the semifinals. In the 2006 Germany World Cup, by defeating Portugal 1-0, France reached the final again, where it became the runner-up after losing to Italy in a penalty shootout. Similarly, in the 2018 Russia World Cup, by defeating Belgium, France reached the final and won the World Cup title for the second time by defeating Croatia. In the previous edition, the 2022 Qatar World Cup, by ending Morocco's excellent journey with a 2-0 victory in the semifinals, France reached the final for the second consecutive time, but became the runner-up after losing to Argentina on penalties.
In this year's 2026 World Cup, jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, France had entered the field with a strong determination to reach the final for the fifth time. However, its eighth semifinal journey ended disappointingly with the match against Spain. Despite struggling throughout the game, captain Kylian Mbappé's team could not break through Spain's disciplined defense. With this defeat, France's overall World Cup semifinal history now has a balanced record of 4 wins and 4 losses.
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