The first semifinal is done, and it was a masterclass. Now comes the match that the whole tournament has been building toward.
Yesterday's Results
France 0–2 Spain (Semifinal, Dallas Stadium)
Spain didn't just beat France — they suffocated them. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after Lamine Yamal — a day after turning 19 — was clipped inside the box by Lucas Digne. Pedro Porro doubled the lead in the 58th minute with a clinical finish off a one-two with Dani Olmo, and that was that. France pushed late, bringing on Désir Doué and Rayan Cherki, and Mbappé threatened on the break, but Unai Simón was sharp as a sweeper-keeper and Marc Cucurella made a decisive challenge when it mattered. Didier Deschamps' side never really got going, and the final whistle confirmed what the scoreline suggested: Spain were the better team from first minute to last. La Roja are into the final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, where they'll face the winner of tonight's match.
For context on the bracket: the Reference Facts also confirm two earlier results that shaped the path here — Morocco beat Canada 3–0 in the Round of 16, and France beat Paraguay 1–0 in that same round. France's run ends here; Spain's continues.
Today's Fixtures
No unscored match_results rows are present in today's Reference Facts for the semifinal bracket — the England vs. Argentina semifinal is the match the sources are pointing to, but it does not appear as a Reference Facts row with a confirmed status I can list here. What the sources make clear: England face Argentina today at 3 p.m. ET, with the winner advancing to Sunday's final against Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Watch for whether England's midfield — inspired by Bellingham in the quarterfinal win over Norway, per BBC Sport — can handle an Argentina side built entirely around protecting and enabling Messi. Argentina beat a 10-man Switzerland in extra time to get here; England have momentum and a nation behind them. Harry Kane will need to be the difference-maker he's been all tournament. For Argentina, the question is whether Messi, at 38, has one more defining performance left in him at this stage.
Around the Tournament
Spain's Oyarzabal hits a milestone. Mikel Oyarzabal's penalty against France was his 30th international goal for Spain, making him the sixth player in Spanish history to reach that mark — joining David Villa, Raúl, Fernando Torres, Álvaro Morata, and David Silva. FIFA's match report notes he has scored 18 goals in his last 20 games for the national team. That is a player in the form of his life at exactly the right moment.
Deschamps gets the farewell no one wanted. BBC Sport reports that Didier Deschamps, in what is understood to be his final tournament as France manager, will now face the third-place play-off on Saturday rather than the final he was chasing. It's a bittersweet end to a long and decorated tenure — the man who won the World Cup as a player in 1998 and as a coach in 2018 goes out not with a trophy but with a bronze-medal match.
Norway's heartbreak becomes a party back home. Reuters reports that huge crowds packed Oslo to celebrate Norway's run despite their semifinal exit — a sign of how much this tournament has meant to a nation making its deepest World Cup run in a generation. Erling Haaland and company didn't make the final, but they made their country proud, and the capital apparently didn't need a trophy to throw a party.
Tonight is England vs. Argentina — two previous World Cup winners, a rivalry soaked in history, and a place in Sunday's final on the line. If Spain's semifinal was a tactical clinic, this one promises to be something rawer and louder. Don't miss it.