​France vs. Spain history: Head-to-head matches at World Cup, last meeting, team records and more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.In the eyes of many good judges, France and Spain are the two best teams remaining at the 2026 World Cup.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLIVE:Follow France vs. Spain updates from 2026 World Cup semifinalBut only one can reach the final, as Les Bleus and La Roja prepare for a seismic semifinal duel in Dallas.The two European giants have a rich shared history and have previous when it comes to huge encounters with everything on the line.Here’s all you need to know about one of soccer’s most storied international rivalries, which spans more than a century.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsFrance first played Spain on April 30, 1922, when the visitors left Bordeaux with a 4-0 win thanks to two goals apiece from Barcelona’s Paulino Alcantara and Athletic Club’s Travieso in his one and only appearance for his country.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat began Spain’s early dominance of a rivalry where the two neighbours played one another exclusively in international friendly matches for the next 62 years. When they finally played in an official competition, the stakes could scarcely have been higher.Spain were aiming to win a second European title when they tangled with hosts France in the final of Euro 84, but Les Bleus, inspired by their majestic captain and talisman Michel Platini, were the form team in Europe and would not be denied two years on from semifinal heartbreak at the 1982 World Cup.The game at the Parc des Princes remained goalless until just before the hour. France forward Bernard Lacombe won a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Platini inevitably took. He whipped a low shot towards the bottom-right corner that goalkeeper Luis Arconada saw all the way. Arconada got both hands to the ball, bringing it towards his chest, but it slipped from his grasp and squirmed agonisingly over the line.Michel Platini(Getty Images)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs Spain piled forward in search of an equaliser in stoppage time, Jean Tigana played a perfectly weighted throughball for Bruno Bellone to steam onto to dispatch a fine chipped finish.The sides met again in qualifying for Euro 92, with a pair of wins for a Jean-Pierre Papin-inspired France underscoring a miserable campaign for Spain, and in the group stages of Euro 96, sharing a 1-1 draw at Elland Road.Both Spain and France bowed out on penalties in that tournament, to England and the Czech Republic respectively, and met in the quarterfinals four years later.Euro 2000 was a fabulous, high-class tournament and is remembered as such because of matches like the one Spain and France served up in Bruges.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFrance were the reigning world champions, but that 1998 success came, like Eur