Two of Europe’s powerhouses, France and Spain, meet in the second semifinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at 1 a.m. Bangladesh time in the early hours of Tuesday. Many are describing the eagerly awaited match, to be held at the Dallas Stadium in Texas, as a “final before the final.”
France have played dominant football throughout the World Cup, and the two-time world champions are regarded as one of the favorites for the title. Spain, on the other hand, quickly recovered from an unexpected stumble against Cape Verde to return to their normal rhythm, and the reigning European champions now face the tough test of containing one of the world’s most fearsome attacks. There is a clear difference in the two teams’ styles too: France like to pressure opponents with fast counter-attacks, while Spain are used to holding possession and building their attacks patiently.
France did not face any great difficulty on their way to the semifinals. Their attack is led by captain Kylian Mbappé, who, with eight goals in six matches, is right at the top of the race for the Golden Boot. Alongside him in attack are Michael Olise, the Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, and the PSG young duo Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué. Spain, under Luis de la Fuente, reached the last four on the back of possession-based football, planned attacks and a balanced team performance, showing signs of maturity in every department, from defense to attack.
Recent statistics favor Spain against France. Before a thrilling 5-4 win in last year’s UEFA Nations League, they had also beaten the French 2-1 in the semifinal of Euro 2024. But France have made history by reaching a World Cup semifinal for a third consecutive time, a feat previously achieved only by Germany and Brazil.
In the head-to-head record, France and Spain have met 38 times across all competitions so far. Spain have won 18 of those matches and France 13, with the remaining seven drawn. Spain’s consistency in major tournaments since the 2018 World Cup has also been enviable: of 27 matches they have lost only one, winning 16 and drawing 10. Since their defeat by Japan at the 2022 World Cup, the Spaniards have gone 14 matches unbeaten, conceding only five goals in that time and never more than one in a single match, and keeping clean sheets in nine matches. In World Cup history, however, France won the two teams’ only previous meeting: at the 2006 World Cup, trailing in the round of 16, Les Bleus scored twice in the last 10 minutes to beat Spain 3-1 and reach the quarterfinals. Whether history changes in this second World Cup meeting, or the old memory returns, will be answered on the pitch in Dallas.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report