France and Spain face off in the semi-finals of the World Cup in North America on Tuesday in Dallas, as the Roosters seek a third in a row and La Roja still aspire to complete their European Cup feat in 2024 with their biggest trophy.
"We know that France is undoubtedly a football superpower, but we, who closely follow our training and our matches every day, have great confidence in our style of play, and our mentality is: if every player plays to his best, no team will be able to beat us," goalkeeper Unai Simón said in an interview with Spanish radio Kobe, quoted by French newspaper RMC.
The Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper continued: "Kylian has a variety of technical skills, but Dembele shows them with both feet, every team has its strengths... The French team has a tremendous attacking power and outstanding individual talent, but our strength lies in the team as a whole. We are a cohesive team that knows its game plan well, and such a team is difficult to overcome," and below we review the history of the decisive confrontations between the two teams.
1984 European Cup Final: France – Spain 2-0
The first competitive encounter between the two European neighbours came in the 1984 European Cup final in Paris, where the French team, led by Michel Platini, won the first continental title in its history.
The match was decided at the Parc des Princes thanks to Platini's free-kick just before the hour mark, which Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada mishandled and sneaked out of his hands into the net to give France the lead.
It was Platini's ninth goal in five games in the tournament and paved the way for victory, despite Yvonne Le Roux being sent off in the final minutes, before Bruno Bellon confirmed the superiority, France was crowned European champions, while Spain did not reach another final until winning the continental title in 2008.
2006 World Cup Final Eight: Spain v France 1-3
The only meeting between the two teams at the World Cup before this year came in Germany in 2006, in the quarter-finals in Hannover, with Spain topping their group with three wins, while France narrowly qualified as runners-up after two draws with Switzerland and South Korea.
Spain opened the scoring through David Villa from the penalty spot, but Franck Ribery equalised before the break, and Patrick Vieira put France ahead as extra time approached, before Zinedine Zidane sealed the win.
France later lost the final on penalties to Italy, while Spain came out disappointed, before making up for it by winning the 2010 World Cup between the 2008 and 2012 European Cups.
2021 UEFA Nations League Final: Spain – France 1-2
The two teams will face off again in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final in Milan, in front of a limited crowd due to the Covid pandemic.
Spain took the lead through Mikel Oyarzabal after an hour of play, but Karim Benzema, who is fresh back to the national team after a long absence, equalised with a pass from Kylian Mbappe, who then scored the winning goal, giving France their second title under coach Didier Deschamps after the 2018 World Cup.
Euro 2024 semi-finals: Spain v France 2-1
France were different at Euro 2024, reaching the semi-finals with just three goals in five matches, one from the penalty spot and the other two from friendly fire.
Randall Kolo Muani opened the scoring and became the first French player to score from open play in the tournament, but Lamine Jamal levelled the score with a stunning strike four days before turning 17. Dani Olmo added the winning goal minutes later, before Spain went on to win at the expense of England in the final.
UEFA Nations League semi-finals in 2025: Spain v France 5-4
The two teams met in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League last June in Stuttgart. Spain took a 4-0 lead at the start of the second half through Nico Williams and Mikel Merino and a penalty from Lamine Gamal and Pedri.
Kylian Mbappe reduced the deficit from a penalty kick, and Jamal added the fifth goal, before France came back and responded through Ryan Sharqi and Randall Kolo Muani, with a reverse goal from Dani Vivian, which made the score even closer. Spain later lost the final on penalties to Portugal.
They also won 5-3 in the 2024 Olympic Football Final, with Manu Konet, Michael Ulyssé, Jean-Philippe Matita, Désiré Doéé, Ryan Chergui, Pau Kuparsi and Alex Baena, all of whom are also candidates to participate this time around.