The France–Spain football rivalry (French: Rivalité footballistique France-Espagne, Spanish: Rivalidad futbolística entre Francia y España) is one of the biggest and most heated association football rivalries in Europe, between France and Spain, two of the most successful national teams in the world as well as neighbours in Europe.
Eventually, the World War II led to the tensions between two nations, with Spain under pro-Nazi Francisco Franco despite its neutrality,[3] and majority of French who opposed Nazi occupation; Spain was viewed with suspicion by France for sheltering several Nazi collaborators during the German occupation of France.
[4][5] After the WWII, Spain and France established official relations, and football rivalry began to redevelop.
The rivalry reached a new height after Spain suffered an agonizing 2–1 defeat to France in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final, which attracted media in both countries due to their successes in football competitions and has since become popular throughout confrontation between the two national teams as part of the multi-dimensional rivalry between two states.
[10] In the 2020s, there were several players with close ties to both countries, including France's Antoine Griezmann, the Hernandez brothers Lucas and Théo (both of Spanish descent) who spent most or all of their careers in Spain, Karim Benzema and Raphaël Varane who had long spells at Real Madrid, the younger Wissam Ben Yedder, Eduardo Camavinga, Ousmane Dembélé, Jules Koundé, Thomas Lemar, Clément Lenglet, Ferland Mendy and Aurélien Tchouaméni who also featured prominently in La Liga,[11] a Spanish contingent at Paris Saint-Germain (comprising internationals Marco Asensio, Juan Bernat, Ander Herrera, Sergio Ramos, Sergio Rico, Fabián Ruiz, Pablo Sarabia, and Carlos Soler over a handful of seasons), and France-born defenders Aymeric Laporte and Robin Le Normand who both opted to become naturalized to play for the Spain national team due to greater opportunities for selection in their position compared with their birth nation.