Spain advances to World Cup final with win over France, awaits winner between England vs. Argentina

Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot after a heady play by teenager Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro added another goal and Spain advanced to its first World Cup final since winning in 2010 with a 2-0 victory over France on Tuesday.

A day after his 19th birthday, Yamal was denied a goal on a close offside call that came soon after Porro's give-and-go with Dani Olmo in the 58th minute had put Spain up 2-0. But it was Yamal's smart play against a veteran defender that put Spain in the lead.

Spain will face either defending champion Argentina or England on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They face each other on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Kylian Mbappé and France, FIFA's top-ranked team, were trying to become only the third team to reach three consecutive World Cup finals. They instead will play in the third-place game in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, the day before the final at MetLife Stadium across the river from New York City.

This win on soccer's biggest stage marked the third summer in a row that Spain beat France in a tournament semifinal match. Yamal scored in a 2-1 win in the 2024 European Championship semifinals just days before his 17th birthday, and La Roja won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.

After a quarterfinal win over Belgium last Friday, Yamal said he believed France should fear Spain. Those words certainly proved true.

Oyarzabal's penalty kick in the 22nd minute came after Yamal drew a foul when kicked by defender Lucas Digne.

After a poor first touch with his head, Digne was trying to clear the ball when Yamal raced in from behind to challenge in the penalty area. The ball hit off the elbow of the leaping teen before he was kicked by Digne, playing in his 63rd game for France only six days before his 33rd birthday.

Oyarzabal's fifth goal of this year's World Cup marked the first time either team has trailed in their seven games in this tournament. It was his 30th goal in 60 international games for Spain.

Kylian Mbappé and France haven't trailed at all in this year's World Cup. Neither has Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and clutch goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.

Only one of those teams can make it to the final.

France and Spain, both at their 17th World Cup, have met only once previously on soccer's biggest stage. They play Tuesday at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches.

After entering this tournament as FIFA's top-ranked team, France has outscored its opponents 14-2. Mbappé, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals to match Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this time, and is one behind the Argentina captain's career record of 21 at the World Cup.

"We are confident, of course, with the course we have done so far, and we have to be," France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. "But always with this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the competition."

The 27-year-old Mbappé has 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches, including one in the 2018 win over Croatia when he joined Pele as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final. Coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappé is fine physically after exiting in the 77th minute of Les Bleus' quarterfinal win over Morocco after scoring a goal.

Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already been part of two semifinal wins with Spain over France. He was just days shy of his 17th birthday when he scored in a 2-1 win during the 2024 European Championship semifinals, and Spain won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.

"I believe if France has to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion," Yamal said after Spain's quarterfinal victory over Belgium. "We were the ones that knocked them out before."

Police said Monday they are investigating the death of South Africa World Cup soccer player Jayden Adams, after his body was discovered this weekend at a property in the city of Cape Town.

The 25-year-old Adams died two weeks after helping South Africa reach the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time.

Authorities have not released a cause of death.

"Cape Town central police registered an inquest for investigation following the discovery of the body of a 25-year-old male on Saturday," police said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. "Circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation."

Police said the body was discovered at a property in the Cape Town neighborhood of Schotsche Kloof at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, but gave no more details.

Adams' father, Juanito Adams, told South African TV news station eNCA on Sunday that the family was waiting for the results of an autopsy and had not yet made any funeral plans.

"As you all know, it was an untimely death. The family is struggling to process it," Juanito Adams said. "It won't be easy to carry on. People say it will become easier, but it won't. You just learn to live with it."

Adams played in all three of South Africa's group games as it produced its best performance at the World Cup. He did not feature in the 1-0 loss to Canada in the round of 32 on June 28.

South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said Adams had played in his team's group game against the Czech Republic hours after learning that his grandmother had died. McKenzie asked the public and media to "exercise restraint and compassion" and not speculate on the cause of Adams' death while authorities conduct an investigation.

There were moments of silence and tributes for Adams at the England vs. Norway and Argentina vs. Switzerland World Cup quarterfinal games on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ATLANTA (AP) -- It's a World Cup semifinal lineup for the ages.

Four previous champions and the four top-ranking teams in the world. Five of the six top scorers, one GOAT and one of the bitterest rivalries in soccer.

Argentina, Spain, France and England went into the tournament as the top four in FIFA's rankings and are two wins away from being crowned champion of the world again. It's just too close to call either semifinal matchup: France will play Spain in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday and England will face Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Not since 1990 has the final four of a World Cup been made up entirely of previous winners. England and Argentina were involved then, although they didn't play each other. Then, like now, Argentina was the defending champion - after beating West Germany in the 1986 final in Mexico - and went on to lose to West Germany in the 1990 final.

And this year could also see a repeat of the 2022 final if France and Argentina both advance.

England vs. Argentina: A bitter rivalry

Argentina must overcome England in a match that resumes a fierce rivalry that goes beyond the soccer field, with tensions also relating to the 1982 conflict over the Falklands Islands.

On the field there have been numerous flashpoints between the teams on the World Cup stage. Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered quarterfinal match against winner England in 1966. England manager Alf Ramsey tried to stop his players from swapping shirts with their opponents after a 1-0 victory.

Roll the clock forward 20 years and in 1986 Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal helped Argentina to a 2-1 win against England in the quarterfinals on the way to lifting the trophy.

David Beckham was sent off in 1998 for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone, who was predictably criticized by the English media for his reaction to what appeared to be light contact. Argentina won the round of 16 match on penalties.

Beckham got his revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated at the group stage.

France vs. Spain: A quick chance for French revenge

France and Spain meet again in the semifinals of a major tournament, just two years since going head-to-head at the European Championship.

Spain won 2-1 with a then-16-year-old Lamine Yamal on the score sheet and went on to lift the Euros by beating England in the final.

Kylian Mbappé's powers were diminished in that tournament after sustaining a broken nose, while emerging stars like Michael Olise and Désiré Doué were yet to break through.

Two years on and France is widely regarded to have been the most impressive team of this World Cup with a dizzying array of attacking talent and the joint leading scorer in Mbappé ahead of the semifinal on France's Bastille Day.

In contrast Spain had to contend with injuries to Yamal and fellow winger Nico Williams coming into the tournament and has relied on late goals from substitute Mikel Merino to edge past Portugal and Belgium in the last two rounds.

The nations have met on a number of occasions at the World Cup or Euros. France beat Spain in the final of Euro 84.

The race for the Golden Boot

It has become a thrilling competition within the tournament as many of the world's most lethal finishers have all turned up in peak form.

Erling Haaland may be out of the race, but five of the six top scorers are still standing and others could yet force their way into the race for the Golden Boot.

Mbappé and Lionel Messi lead the way with eight goals each. Haaland has seven, but he cannot add to that number after Norway was eliminated by England in the quarterfinals.

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have six each, while Ousmane Dembélé is on five.

Mikel Oyarzabal has four goals, so could yet challenge if Spain overcomes France in the semifinals.

There's also the contest for the all-time top scorer at World Cups overall with Messi on 21 goals and Mbappé on 20.

That man Messi

He is already considered by many to be the greatest of all time - the GOAT - and his performances at what is likely his last World Cup, aged 39, have only strengthened that argument. This will be Messi's first-ever game against England.

If Messi can lead Argentina to the title, he would surpass the great Maradona by winning two World Cups for his country.

Argentina would also become the first back-to-back champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

Soccer great Pelé was part of those Brazil teams and also went on to win a third World Cup in 1970.