The FIFA World Cup is reaching its final stages, with Spain already through to the championship match and England set to face Argentina for the remaining spot.

Spain booked its place in the World Cup final after a 2-0 victory over France in Tuesday's first semifinal at AT&T Stadium. Spain's defence once again proved to be the difference-maker, recording its sixth clean sheet of the tournament while keeping France off the scoreboard.

The victory sends Spain back to the World Cup final for the first time since 2010. Spain's opponent in the final will be decided on Wednesday, July 15, when Argentina and England meet in the second semifinal.

Although France fell short of reaching the final, its World Cup campaign is not finished. The team will still have one more match to play, facing the loser of the Argentina-England semifinal in the third-place play-off game.

According to the Opta supercomputer, England have a slight edge, advancing in 51.9 percent of projected simulations. England captain Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have each scored six goals, marking the first time in World Cup history that two players from the same nation have reached that milestone in a single tournament.

Argentina, led by Golden Boot frontrunner Lionel Messi with eight goals, enter the semifinal as the highest-scoring team at the 2026 World Cup, having found the net 17 times.

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said after the match: "This team interprets every play of the game perfectly."

FIFA announced the lineup for the closing ceremony, featuring Tom Cruise, IShowSpeed, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robbie Williams.

Source: www.aljazeera.com