It’s the big semifinal between European powerhouses as France and Spain meet in Dallas on Tuesday for a place in the World Cup final.
Spain, who are the top ranked team going into the tournament and current European champions, qualified for the semifinals after overcoming Belgium 2-1 thanks, once again, to a late goal from Mikel Merino. France, who are No. 3, were at their usual best in their 2-0 quarterfinal win against Morocco with Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scoring the goals.
Both teams have been very frugal at the back with Spain conceding just one goal in six games while France gave away just two and have maintained clean sheets in all their three knockout games.
Last time they met in a big tournament, it was at the Euro 2024 with Spain winning the semifinal 2-1 with Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo scoring for their team. France will want to get Tuesday’s result in their favour and make it to their third straight World Cup final.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Tuesday, July 14, 3:00 p.m.
UK BST: Tuesday, July 14, 8:00 p.m.
India IST: Wednesday, July 15, 12:30 a.m.
Australia AEST: Wednesday, July 15, 5 a.m.
Venue: Dallas Stadium
Referee: TBC
Team News and Predicted Lineups
France
Mike Maignan
Jules Koundé | Dayot Upamecano | William Saliba | Lucas Digne
Manu Koné | Adrien Rabiot
Michael Olise | Ousmane Dembélé | Désiré Doué
Kylian Mbappé
Spain
Unai Simón
Pedro Porro | Pau Cubarsí | Aymeric Laporte | Marc Cucurella
Pedri | Rodri
Lamine Yamal | Dani Olmo | Álex Baena
Mikel Oyarzabal
Talking Points
France’s attacking firepower makes them favourites
Just two goals conceded and three straight clean sheets will give the impression that this is a typical Didier Deschamps team with a rock solid defence. It’s true that France’s opponents struggled to break down their defence, but it’s obvious that this team’s strength is their attacking unit.
No team so far has been able to stop France’s front four. Mbappé has eight goals, Dembélé has scored five times while Michael Olise has five assists, more than anybody at this World Cup. Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola contributed significantly, whether they start or come off the bench. In the midfield, even an injury to a key player like Aurélien Tchouaméni didn’t disrupt France with Adrien Rabiot and Manu Koné largely keeping control of the proceedings in the middle of the pitch. They came across good teams in the previous rounds and beat the likes of Senegal, Norway, Sweden and Morocco without much trouble. They also sorted out Paraguay who tried their best to break their rhythm with their physicality and deep defending.
This France side don’t have a weakness and they don’t make mistakes. However, Deschamps will be clear to his players that they need to maintain consistency. All the good work in the past games will mean nothing if they make mistakes in the semifinal.
Spain will rely on possession and of course Yamal
0:44
Spain’s Yamal: If anyone can stop France, it’s us
This Spanish team doesn’t have the same attacking zip they showed two years back in European Championships, but no team is better in holding on to the ball and moving it through the pitch before inflicting the damage with a superb final pass.
It’s hard to get press against this team with Rodri, Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, Olmo, Yamal, Álex Baena, Marc Cucurella and Pau Cubarsí so good with the ball. They are a disciplined side who know how to win the ball back as soon as they lose it and then keep it for long durations. They will keep trying to create chances and eventually take it, as they did against Portugal and Belgium with Merino coming up clutch twice in those games.
While Head coach Luis de la Fuente will have a lot of faith in his players, he will be particularly depending on Yamal to cause damage against France. The 18-year-old talisman showed glimpses of his prowess in the previous match, but it was clear that the winger is still recovering from an injury. The good news is that he’s getting back to his best. Against a team as good as France, Spain will be hoping Yamal will hit his stride early on and provide a moment or two of his genius, like he did in the Euro 2024 semifinal.
