France vs. Spain: Head-to-head record and previous meetings before the 2026 World Cup semi-final

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France vs. Spain: Head-to-head record and previous meetings before the 2026 World Cup semi-final

Favorites France will face European champions Spain in the away game 2026 World Cup semifinal Tuesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Didier Deschamps’ Bleus have booked their place in the last four beat Morocco 2-0 Last Thursday, with the goals of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.

As for Luis de la Fuente’s Roja, see beat Belgium 2-1courtesy of the 88th minute winner from substitute Mikel Merino.

Here, Sports mole takes a closer look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between France and Spain before it World Cup semifinalist.

Head to head record

Past meetings: 38

France wins: 13

Drawings: 7

Spain wins: 18

Europe’s two giants, France and Spain, have met on 38 separate occasions over the years, with La Roja leading the way with 18 wins compared to Les Bleus’ 13, while the teams have drawn seven.

The first match between the nations took place back in April 1922, when Spain beat France 4-0 in a friendly match in Bordeaux, thanks to goals from Paulino Alcantara and Manuel Lopez ‘Travieso’.

That first defeat was the first of four in a row for France, who managed to avoid losing one of their first eight matches against Spain, beating La Roja 1-0 in April 1933.

June 1984 was the sport’s highest-profile meeting – and the first ever – when France won 2-0 in the European Championship final, thanks to second-half efforts from Michel Platini and Bruno Bellone.

Victory at the Parc des Princes that day saw Les Bleus claim their first ever major trophy, made all the more special considering they were the hosts of the tournament.

Since then, France has always faced Spain in the knockout stages of international competitions, for example, winning in the round of 16 at the 2006 World Cup.

However, La Roja have won three of the last four meetings between the nations, including a 2-1 comeback in the Euro 2024 semi-final, when Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo scored in Randal Kolo Muani’s opener.

Their most recent clash saw Spain win nine goals to nine 5-4 in the June 2025 United Nations semi-final, surviving a second-half scare to take a 5-1 lead through Yamal’s 67th-minute effort.