Spain vs France: Previous encounters
Spain have never beaten France in a competitive match, ahead of their meeting in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals in Donetsk on Saturday. Here's a look at some of the more recent encounters between the European neighbours.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: June 23, 2012 02:13 PM IST
Spain have never beaten France in a competitive match, ahead of their meeting in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals in Donetsk on Saturday. Here's a look at some of the more recent encounters between the European neighbours.
June 27, 1984
FRANCE 2 SPAIN 0 (1984 European Championship final): Hosts France were bidding to win their first ever major title and they were given a huge helping hand by Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada, who allowed Michel Platini's tame free-kick to squirm beneath him in the 57th minute.
Victory was not secured until the final minute, when Bruno Bellone rampaged down the left flank before dinking the ball over Arconada to send Parc des Princes into raptures.
The 1984 success was the most enduring achievement of the great France side of the mid-1980s and Platini finished as top goalscorer with nine goals, which remains a tournament record.
June 25, 2000
FRANCE 2 SPAIN 1 (2000 European Championship quarter-final): Buoyed by their success at the 1998 World Cup on home soil, France went into Euro 2000 as the favourites but they approached their quarter-final against Spain in Bruges on the back of a 3-2 loss to the Netherlands.
All the goals came in the first half, with Zinedine Zidane's glorious free-kick cancelled out by a Gaizka Mendieta penalty before Youri Djorkaeff restored France's lead a minute before half-time.
Raul spurned an opportunity to equalise in the closing stages when he missed from the penalty spot after being fouled by Fabien Barthez, and France went on to claim the trophy by beating Italy in the final.
June 27, 2006
SPAIN 1 FRANCE 3 (2006 World Cup round of 16): The tables appeared to have turned at the 2006 World Cup, with Spain winning all three of their group-phase matches and France narrowly qualifying from a pool that contained Switzerland, Togo and South Korea.
Luis Aragones' side were being tipped for the title but despite taking the lead through a David Villa penalty, they saw France draw level before half-time thanks to Franck Ribery's first goal for his country.
Spain held on until the final seven minutes, when goals from Patrick Vieira and Zidane took Les Bleus into a semi-final showdown with Portugal.
Raymond Domenech's men overcame the Portuguese but fell on penalties to Italy in the final, after Zidane's career came to an ignominious end with a red card for a headbutt on Marco Materazzi.
February 6, 2008
SPAIN 1 FRANCE 0 (friendly): Spain claimed only their second win over France in 11 attempts after an 82nd-minute strike from left-back Joan Capdevila gave the hosts victory in a Euro 2008 warm-up match in La Rosaleda.
Capdevila polished off a rebound after Andres Iniesta's powerful shot was blocked on the line by Lassana Diarra, while Karim Benzema hit the crossbar for France in the dying stages.
Five months later, Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the Euro 2008 final in Vienna to claim their first major honour since the 1964 European Championship, while France went out in the group phase.
March 3, 2010
FRANCE 0 SPAIN 2 (friendly): The last meeting between the sides saw Spain prevail comfortably in a friendly game at Stade de France prior to the 2010 World Cup.
First-half goals from David Villa and Sergio Ramos earned Spain victory, while Fernando Torres gave France centre-back Michael Ciani a torrid time on his one and -- to date -- only international appearance.
The year ended with Spain the world champions after they beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the World Cup final in Johannesburg, but France left the tournament in disgrace following a group-stage exit marred by a training ground strike.