Pedro Porro recreates heartwarming father-son celebration after scoring against France

Whenever the wife of Spain right-back Pedro Porro asks their nearly one-year-old son how his papa celebrates his goals, little ‘Pedrito’ plops down on the floor and raises his very small fist. Unfortunately, a small fever prevented Pedrito from being at Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal against France, with Porro’s mother staying behind to take care of the infant.

But that was not about to stop Porro from having a special father-son moment after he scored the second goal in La Roja’s 2-0 victory over Les Bleus. Imitating little Pedrito, Porro sat down on the pristine Dallas Stadium grass and raised his hand skyward.

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“[My mother] didn’t come because my little one had a fever,” said Porro about the celebration. “It’s normal – it could be teething, growing pains, or any number of things. But I decided he should stay at the hotel. Everything’s fine, though. I gave him a little wave, and hopefully he’ll be feeling a bit better tomorrow.”

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It was the highlight of a magical day for Porro, who just 24 hours earlier commented to assembled reporters that he hoped Wednesday would “be Lamine Yamal’s day”. As it turns out, much of the final four encounter belonged to Porro himself, who scored his second goal at these global finals when he polished off a slick one-two combination with Dani Olmo.

“It was a move where I cut inside; I saw Dani was being marked quite tightly, but I knew that if I played the ball to him, he could return it first-time,” said Porro. “I played that one-two that no defender expects, and found myself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. I kept my cool, just like when I used to play on the wing, and slotted it into the near post – I’m really happy.”

His two goals puts him in rarefied air, with the Tottenham man equalling the legendary Fernando Hierro for most World Cup goals by a Spain defender with two.

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“I’m very happy about that statistic, but I think the victory belongs to the team,” said Porro. “The victory belongs to the 26 of us, to the coaching staff, to everyone supporting us back home, to everyone here cheering us on. I’d like to dedicate it to all of them – it’s not easy for all the families who’ve come all the way here.”

Porro and co. also handled matters on the defensive end, doing what no other team in these global finals had done: halt Kylian Mbappe and the vaunted France attack in their tracks.

“We knew that neutralising their strengths was important for us,” said Porro. “I think we all played a very disciplined game from start to finish. It was a real treat to watch the team compete, and I’d like to congratulate everyone. I think it was a very good performance.”