France vs Spain — match result and stats (Jul 14, 2026)

Spain's coach opened the press conference by offering condolences to the families of victims of the deadly Almería fire and to the relatives of the mother of national team photographer Ángel Martínez, who died on the day of the match. According to a reporter, the team reached a historic milestone — only the second time in Spain's history, after 2010, when the side went on to win that World Cup.

The coach explained his decision to leave Pedri on the bench in favor of Fabián, who scored, and to bring on substitute Mikel Merino, who scored the winning goal, stressing that all decisions are based on detailed analysis of the opponent and players' abilities rather than any hierarchy of importance. Many journalists are calling the upcoming match against France an "early final"; the coach called that fair, acknowledging France's exceptional potential, but noted Spain is the only team to have beaten France in their last two meetings, both of which were semifinals.

He described Merino as an extremely versatile player capable of performing at a top level in positions ranging from defensive midfielder to out-and-out striker. He also highlighted goalkeeper Unai Simón's historic World Cup record for minutes without conceding, crediting it to the whole team's defensive work.

He noted his own achievement of 13 matches unbeaten across the Euros and World Cups, thanking the players and coaching staff for their support.

Didier Deschamps held a pre-match press conference ahead of France's World Cup 2026 semi-final against Spain. He confirmed Aurélien Tchouaméni is back in contention: the risk was too high to use him in the previous match, but he is now available, though not fully recovered.

Deschamps addressed the competition between Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué on the left flank, saying both are capable starters and the choice partly depends on Doué's ability to cut inside on his left foot against Spain's setup built around Yamal. He acknowledged Spain's strong defense and ball control but insisted France can also create problems, expecting an open, high-quality match between two attacking sides.

Asked about France's last two defeats to Spain (Euro and Nations League), he said there is no revenge motive — only tomorrow's match and the single spot in the final matter. He also confirmed Kylian Mbappé trained and is fully fit for the game.

The match falls on July 14, Bastille Day, which Deschamps called symbolic for France, adding the squad will not settle for merely reaching the semi-final.