In the end, the third time was not a charm for France.
Spain beat France 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday to make it three wins in a row against their European heavyweight rival having beaten Les Bleus in the 2024 European Championship semifinals and the UEFA Nations League semifinals in 2025.
The win for Luis de la Fuente's side also ended France's dream of returning to the World Cup final for a third consecutive tournament, a feat achieved only by West Germany from 1982 to 1990 and Brazil from 1994 to 2002.
A first-half penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and an early second-half strike by Pedro Porro staked Spain to a 2-0 lead as they played a near-perfect match against France to advance to a final against England or Argentina on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
"We gave it our all in order just to go through to the final," Porro said after the game. "We knew that we're a very tough team, we're doing things really well. This is our team, it's not about me."
Trailing 1-0 at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) after Oyarzabal converted a penalty following a foul on Lamine Yamal in the area, France took another hit when center back William Saliba was forced off because of a back injury in the 30th minute and replaced by Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
The European Champions looked like a well-oiled machine as they were strong in possession of the ball and did a great job of limiting the impact of France stars Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
Spain's metronome throughout the game was central defender Rodri, who made decisive interventions and diffused threats from France, while always being steady on the ball in the middle of the field.
"It was a collective effort of everyone. Today we did best our best performance of the World Cup so far," Rodri said after the game. "France is a very strong team and can punish you everywhere. But everyone [on Spain] rose to the level.
"I said it before. We are showing the character of being mature in big moments and this was the most important moment to wait for. Because in the big moments [France] will punish you, so the composure was the key."
