FIFA World Cup 2026: Biggest takeaways from the semifinals

After 102 games over five weeks, the FIFA World Cup is down to the first all-Spanish-speaking final since the inaugural tournament in 1930.

And, for the first time, the title game will match the reigning World Cup and Copa America champions, Argentina, with the current European champions, Spain.
In the semifinals, France made life easy for Spain by conceding an early penalty in La Roja’s 2-0 win.

England made things difficult for Argentina before their late defensive shell game cracked open. La Albiceleste’s 2-1 victory sent the Three Lions away with their tails between their legs.

Here are the key takeaways from the semifinals:

Spain outclass France all over the pitch
A day after his 19th birthday, Lamine Yamal outfoxed France left back Lucas Digne, earning a penalty kick. Spain gratefully accepted the gift, Mikel Oyarzabal converting in the 22d minute. Plenty happened in this match – won by Spain 2-0 – but nothing more consequential than Digne booting Yamal, after apparently being caught by surprise while attempting a clearance.

Meanwhile, as Dani Olmo, Rodri and Fabian Ruiz bossed the midfield, Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro shut down the wings.

That meant Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte only had to contain Kylian Mbappe. Unai Simon advanced out of the penalty area a couple of times – stopping a hypersonic Mbappe, then retreating to stymie Desire Doue.

Porro’s 58th minute goal upped the advantage. And Spain’s keepaway tactics made holding off the tournament favourites seem relatively easy.
Spain have improved since an opening 0-0 draw with Cape Verde, partly because of the addition of Olmo to the midfield. Luis de la Fuente also had Olmo on the bench at the start of Spain’s 2024 Euro championship run, before Olmo got in the lineup and scored or produced game-winning plays in four games.
The United States has continued its attacks against Iran for a sixth consecutive night, with strikes targeting infrastructure in the country’s south, according to local media reports.

Describing the operation as an effort “to further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, US Central Command said the latest wave of strikes began at 18:00 GMT on Thursday, as Iranian media reported explosions and attacks in Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, Iranshahr and Bandar-e Khamir.
Iranian media later reported casualties following strikes in the Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e Khamir areas, where earlier reports had described attacks on transport infrastructure, including the Kehvarstan Bridge and a railway station.

The attacks – days after US President Donald Trump threatened to potentially hit Iranian infrastructure – were the latest sign of peril for an interim US-Iran deal the two signed last month.

Both sides have since accused the other of violating the memorandum of understanding (MoU) amid a week of spiralling hostilities.

The US military also said forces under Central Command had redirected three commercial vessels attempting to bypass its blockade of Iran in the Gulf of Oman, disabling one vessel that failed to comply and boarding another.