• AVIF image of England v Argentina

FIFA said that fans can now have their say as to which was most impressive from across the six quarter-final and semi-final matches, emphasising that the round of voting for the Goal of the Tournament is now open.

The contenders are Kylian Mbappe (France); Andreas Schjelderup (Norway) Jude Bellingham (England) ,Julian Alvarez (Argentina) Pedro Porro (Spain) and Enzo Fernandez (Argentina).

According to the world football body, this is the latest step in the process towards deciding the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament, with users having 48 hours to place their vote once the window opens.

After the voting window has closed, the winning goal will be announced.Having already had several rounds of voting, there will be one further vote to determine the Goal of the Tournament after this weekend’s final in New York New Jersey

•France coach Didier Deschamps\ AFP

France coach Didier Deschamps said his players were left “devastated” by their World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain on Tuesday before aiming a barb at match referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador.

Deschamps’ free-flowing French team had dazzled the competition en route to the last four, rattling in 16 goals in six games to earn comparisons to some of the greatest teams in World Cup history.

But France’s dreams of a third World Cup title were left in tatters after a dominant Spanish performance that left Deschamps, who is stepping down after the tournament, struggling for answers.

” Of course, there is a lot of disappointment,” Deschamps said immediately after the defeat at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“The players are devastated because we had a lot of ambition, even though we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a notch below on the technical level against a team that controlled the game well.

“But first of all, it’s our fault, I don’t want to blame anyone.”

Deschamps though could not resist firing a shot at referee Barton, who had awarded Spain an early penalty after Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal in the first half.

I’ll ask a loaded question and I won’t answer it,” Deschamps said.

“Is the referee at the level required to officiate a World Cup semi-final?“And I’m not saying this just because we lost today. There were quite a few situations. There were some favourable calls, too,” he said, without elaborating.

• Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Spain beat France 2-0 with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro and will contest the World Cup final against the winner of England v Argentina.Spain are within touching distance of glory.

Luis de la Fuente’s side beat France convincingly 2-0 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington and booked their place in the 2026 World Cup final after a display of character, footballing quality and competitive maturity.

La Roja once again got the better of one of the main favourites for the title in a hugely demanding match.

France tried to set the tempo early on, but Spain soon took control of possession and the midfield. Lamine Yamal’s pace proved decisive in breaking the deadlock: the winger won a penalty after a challenge from Lucas Digne and Mikel Oyarzabal made no mistake from the spot to put Spain ahead before half-time.

With the advantage on the scoreboard, the Spanish team showed the composure that has been the hallmark of their whole campaign.

Rodri and Fabián Ruiz ran the show in the middle of the park, while an impeccably disciplined defence neutralised Mbappé and France’s powerful attacking unit. France tried to react after the interval but ran into a consistently solid Spain side, leaving keeper Unai Simón virtually untested.

The decisive blow came in the second half, when Dani Olmo threaded a superb pass into the path of Pedro Porro, who surged forward from full-back with a striker’s instinct to beat Mike Maignan and make it 2-0, leaving the reigning World Cup runners-up reeling.