Graciela Maria Vidal G\u00e1lvez was dancing before Spain had even reached the World Cup final.<\/p>\n
At every half-chance, she rose inside the Club Espagnol de Qu\u00e9bec down St-Laurent Blvd., swaying while also waving her red abanico \u2014 a traditional Spanish fan \u2014 through the humid air.<\/p>\n
Hundreds packed the club\u2019s downstairs hall, upper floor and outdoor terrace Tuesday to watch Spain face France on the large screens. Madri beer pints \u2014 and jugs \u2014 stacked up, Spanish flags were raised and most openings for Spain brought people out of their seats.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0715-city-france-soccer_304288413.jpg\")
Spanish football fan Alexandre Ghislain-Fernandez jumps in the air to celebrate a Spain goal with Jaime Lacasa Periba\u00f1ez, left, Julien Ghislain and Isabel Fernandez, on the terrasse at Club Espagnol in Montreal while Spain defeated France in World Cup semifinal game Tuesday July 14, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the way that we do it,\u201d said Vidal G\u00e1lvez, who moved to Montreal from Madrid when she was 15 years old. \u201cWhen it\u2019s something, it\u2019s always like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club draws dozens of regulars each week, but the semifinal brought supporters from across Montreal\u2019s wider Spanish community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad captain, put Spain ahead, it was then Pedro Porro, the Tottenham Hotspur right-back, who doubled the lead in the 58th minute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEspa\u00f1a\u201d rang out as the place erupted once again.<\/p>\n
France had entered the matchup as the favourite \u2014 with much of the attention focused on stars Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9. The game also fell on Bastille Day, France\u2019s national holiday.<\/p>\n
But Spain ultimately shut down the French attack and advanced to its first men\u2019s World Cup final since winning the tournament in 2010.<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0715-city-france-soccer_304288443.jpg\")
Spanish football fans Maximo Morales, left, and Carole-Ann Lalonde celebrate at Club Espagnol in Montreal after Spain defeated France in World Cup semifinal game Tuesday July 14, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Across the room, M\u00e1ximo Morales watched with friends, wearing a Montreal Expos cap.<\/p>\n
Morales, who is Spanish-Cuban and has frequented the club for years, said he had not seen it this lively since that victory 16 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d he said of Spain reaching the final. \u201cEverybody who didn\u2019t believe in Spain said, \u2018Oh, because Mbapp\u00e9. Oh, because Demb\u00e9l\u00e9.\u2019 Spain showed them that if we play our game and we can block them, there\u2019s no life. We suck the life out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ol\u00e9s began rolling around the room just minutes before the final whistle. Then when it came, jumps, hugs and more chanting followed.<\/p>\n
For Vidal G\u00e1lvez, the next step was inevitable. Club Espa\u00f1ol holds flamenco nights twice a month, she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you make a fiesta, you always finish with a dance.\u201d <\/p>\n
But the moment also reflected her attachment to the country she left as a teenager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy here, that\u2019s for sure, but Spain is Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0715-city-france-soccer_304288453.jpg\")
Spanish football fans Julien Ghislain, left, Alexandre Ghislain-Fernandez, and Isabel Fernandez celebrate on the sidewalk outside Club Espagnol in Montreal after Spain defeated France in World Cup semifinal game Tuesday July 14, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Morales, meanwhile, said he was supporting Argentina in Wednesday\u2019s semifinal against England, hoping for an all-Hispanic final.<\/p>\n
Vidal G\u00e1lvez, however, said of Argentina, \u201cSometimes they play a little bit dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut England?\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cI love England.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spain will face the winner on Sunday in New Jersey.<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0715-city-france-soccer_304288417.jpg\")
Spanish football fans wave to passing cars honking their horns while celebrating outside Club Espagnol in Montreal after Spain defeated France in World Cup semifinal game Tuesday July 14, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graciela Maria Vidal G\u00e1lvez was dancing before Spain had even reached the World Cup final. At every half-chance,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-802352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}