Spain went ahead through David Villa's superbly struck penalty after Lilian Thuram rashly fouled Ibanez Pablo.

France soon equalised when Frank Ribery rounded Iker Casillas after he was found by Patrick Vieira's clever pass. With seven minutes to go Vieira powered in a header and with Spain pushing forward Zinedine Zidane broke clear for a solo effort in stoppage time.

Zidane, who struggled in France's first two group games, looks to have finally found his rhythm, prompting and cajoling his teammates to victory just as he did during their successful 1998 campaign.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo broke the World Cup scoring record as Brazil booked their place in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought win over Ghana. The 29-year-old striker took just five minutes to go past Gerd Muller's tally of 14, latching on to Kaka's through ball and rounding Richard Kingson to slot home.

Adriano tapped in Cafu's cross and Ze Roberto ran through to wrap it up while Ghana's Asamoah Gyan was sent off.

Brazil will now meet France in the last eight on Saturday in Frankfurt.