---
title: "Shock at the 2026 World Cup: Spain and Argentina in the Final, France and England in Despair"
description: "🏆 WC-2026: Spain and Argentina in the Final! France and England crashed in the semi-finals, while the third-place match became the highest-scoring in the tournament's history. 🇪🇸🇦🇷 #WC2026 #Football"
date: 2026-07-19T07:32:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/wc-2026-semi-finals-spain-argentina-france-england
tags: [fifa, argentina, spain, france, england]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Shock at the 2026 World Cup: Spain and Argentina in the Final, France and England in Despair

Summer 2026 saw the football world hold its breath in anticipation of the final of the most prestigious tournament. The World Cup semi-finals, which were supposed to be a battle of titans, turned into a series of unexpected twists that left even the most experienced analysts shaking their heads in disbelief.

The semi-finals featured four teams that occupied the top spots in the FIFA rankings. This circumstance sparked a wave of conspiracy theories about collusion, yet reality proved to be far more prosaic and dramatic. The favorites were decided not by their ranking, but by the quality of their play in the decisive moments.

### The Collapse of the French Dream

The match between France and Spain became a true lesson in tactics. The French national team, which had demonstrated consistently powerful play throughout the tournament, on their national holiday — Bastille Day — proved unprepared for the challenge. The main problem was the neutralization of Michael Olise. Without his creativity, the Mbappé and Dembélé link lost connection with the rest of the team, while the defense of the 'La Roja' acted flawlessly.

The decisive factor was a penalty won by Lamalial. His audacious feint in the penalty area, after which he was brought down, became a psychological blow for the French. Oyarzabal's realization of the penalty in the first minutes following this episode showed that France had no more chances. The second goal finally buried their hopes for gold.

The toothlessness and psychological weakness of the French national team disappointed the fans. There was no hint of their former power left.

### Argentina vs. England: Triumph and Shame

The Argentine national team, attracting insane attention at the tournament, showed true championship football in the match against England. The actions of Messi and his partners were flawless, despite accusations that their success was the result of artificial promotion by FIFA.

England, on the contrary, demonstrated extremely timid football. German coach Thomas Tuchel made the decision to play for a one-goal lead, removing attacking players in favor of defensive ones. This decision proved to be a catastrophe. Even Donald Trump criticized the German for his excessive defensive mindset in the context of using Harry Kane.

The Football Association of England did not take radical steps against Tuchel, but this match became a personal defeat for him.

### The Third-Place Match: Show or Farce?

The most goal-filled match of the tournament, with ten goals, took place in the third-place match. France and England, striving to fight for gold, had no motivation to play for bronze. Thomas Tuchel spoke openly about this.

The media voiced accusations against FIFA, suggesting that in the future, such a match should be removed from the schedule altogether. However, the game turned out to be such that no one will remove the bronze match. The English finished the first half with a score of 4:0. At halftime, Deschamps brought on the four remaining players from the bench; by the middle of the second half, the French had scored three goals, but England kept the opponent at arm's length and won with a score of 6:4.

Deschamps is leaving the French national team after 14 years at the helm with an outright failure. The team will now be entering the era of Zinedine Zidane. As for the English, they will definitely continue working with Thomas Tuchel. However, they will keep in mind the thought: why didn't they play at least in such a liberated manner against Argentina in the semi-final?

Considering the beauty of the semi-finals and the drama of the third-place matches, the 2026 World Cup will go down in history as one of the most unpredictable and exciting tournaments.