These are two of the most traditional teams in Europe. Since their first meeting in 1922, Spain and France have faced each other more than 35 times in all competitions, including international friendly matches.
Despite having a long history at the World Cup, the two teams have only met once in the biggest playground on the planet. That was the match of the 1/8 round of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, taking place at Hannover's stadium.
In that match, Spain soon took a 1-0 lead and was rated higher after an impressive performance in the group stage. Many people at that time believed that this would be the last match in the career of legend Zinedine Zidane.
However, France created an impressive comeback. Franck Ribery equalized in the 41st minute, before Patrick Vieira increased the score to 2-1 in the 83rd minute. In the 90+2 minute, Zidane himself scored the winning goal 3-1, closing the hope of La Roja and opening the journey to bring Les Bleus to the final that year.
In addition to the World Cup, the two teams have faced each other five times at EUROs. Each side has two wins, and one draw. France defeated Spain in the EURO 1984 final and EURO 2000 quarter-finals, the two teams drew 1-1 at the EURO 1996 group stage, while Spain won 2-0 in the EURO 2012 quarter-finals and 2-1 in the EURO 2024 semi-finals.
