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France and Spain will meet in a heavyweight World Cup semifinal showdown on Tuesday, with Les Bleus (the French national soccer team) bidding to reach a third straight final and La Roja (the Spanish national soccer team) still in contention to follow its triumph at Euro 2024 by claiming the biggest prize of all.
Ahead of the game, here are five of the best past encounters between the nations:
1984 European Championship final: France 2, Spain 0.
The first competitive meeting of the European neighbors came in Paris in the Euro 84 final, as a French team inspired by Michel Platini claimed its first major international title.
The final at the Parc des Princes turned just before the hour mark when a Michel Platini free-kick slipped through the grasp of Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada, gifting France the opening goal. The breakthrough marked Platini's ninth goal in just five tournament matches and put the hosts firmly on the path to victory.
Despite losing Yvon Le Roux to a late red card, France secured the title when Bruno Bellone scored in the closing moments to seal the win. The triumph crowned France as European champions, while Spain would endure a long drought, failing to reach another major tournament final until their victorious run at Euro 2008.
2006 World Cup, last 16: Spain 1, France 3.
The only meeting of the teams at a World Cup before this year came in Germany in 2006, as they faced off in the last 16 in Hanover.
A strong Spain team topped its group with three wins out of three, while France labored through as runners-up in its section after being held by Switzerland and South Korea.
Spain went ahead through a David Villa penalty, but Franck Ribery equalized before halftime. Patrick Vieira then put France in front as extra time loomed, and Zinedine Zidane clinched the victory.
Raymond Domenech's France ended up losing the final on penalties to Italy, while Spain was left bruised by another major tournament in which it fell short of its potential. It bounced back to win the 2010 World Cup, though, in between back-to-back Euro triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
2021 UEFA Nations League final: Spain 1, France 2
There have been a series of meetings between the teams in a tournament context in recent years, beginning with the 2021 Nations League final in Milan.
In front of a restricted crowd due to the Covid pandemic, Mikel Oyarzabal gave Luis Enrique's Spain the lead just after the hour mark. Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid striker who had recently been brought back into the international fold after over five years in the wilderness, equalized from Kylian Mbappe's assist. Mbappe then grabbed the winner as France won the second title of Didier Deschamps' reign as coach, after the 2018 World Cup.
Euro 2024 semifinal: Spain 2, France 1
The France team at Euro 2024 was different from the side that lit up this World Cup. It reached the last four by scoring three goals in five games, one was a penalty, the other two were own goals.
Randal Kolo Muani became the first France player to score in open play at the tournament when he gave them the lead early in the semifinal against Spain in Munich.
But Lamine Yamal equalized with a wonderful strike, four days before his 17th birthday. Dani Olmo then got what proved to be the winner a few minutes later, and Spain went on to defeat England in the final.
2025 UEFA Nations League semifinal: Spain 5, France 4
The modern rivalry between the two nations took a dramatic turn during their last meeting in the June 2025 Nations League semifinals in Stuttgart. In that encounter, Spain stormed into a commanding 4-0 second-half lead courtesy of strikes from Nico Williams, Mikel Merino, Pedri, and a Lamine Yamal penalty. While Kylian Mbappe sparked a late French revival from the penalty spot, Yamal answered with Spain's fifth. France continued to fight back, rendering the final scoreline more respectable through a Dani Vivian own goal and late strikes from Rayan Cherki and Randal Kolo Muani, before Spain ultimately advanced to lose the final to Portugal on penalties.
This high-scoring affair mirrored their explosive encounter at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Spain captured the gold medal in a thrilling 5-3 victory. The deep familiarity between the two squads remains a focal point, as tournament veterans Manu Kone, Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Desire Doue, Rayan Cherki, Pau Cubarsi, and Alex Baena are all in line to feature once again.
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