France and Spain face off in a crucial 2026 World Cup semifinal, both looking to become the tournament's first finalist. France and Spain clash in what promises to be a great match at Dallas Stadium, with the winner becoming the first finalist of the 2026 World Cup. France head into this match ranked 1st in the FIFA World Rankings, with 1,948.97 points, having jumped two spots over the course of the tournament after putting together a strong campaign so far. Didier Deschamps‘ men have been unbeaten across all six of their matches so far, topping their group before edging past Sweden in the Round of 32 and beating Paraguay in the Round of 16. They then dispatched Morocco 2-0 in the quarterfinals behind goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele to book their spot in the last four. Standing in their way is a Spain side ranked 3rd in the world, with 1,934.79 points. Luis de la Fuente’s men needed to grind through the knockout rounds, beating Portugal 1-0 in the Round of 16 before edging Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinals on Mikel Merino’s late winner. Kylian Mbappe #10 of France celebrates a goal. (Getty Images) France looking for a third straight final Beyond the ranking gap, France arrive at this semifinal chasing a piece of modern history. A win over Spain would send them to a third consecutive World Cup final, a feat no nation has managed since Brazil made three straight finals from 1994 to 2002. The first of those two previous finals ended in triumph. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, France beat Croatia 4-2 to lift the trophy for a second time in their history. Four years later, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, France came agonizingly close to going back-to-back, drawing 3-3 with Argentina after Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick forced extra time, only to lose 4-2 on penalties in one of the greatest finals in tournament history.