At this year’s World Cup, Kylian Mbappé and France were not far behind. Spain also has teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.
Only one of these teams can advance to the finals.
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France and Spain, who are both hosting their 17th World Cup, have only faced off once before on soccer’s biggest stage. They will play the first of two powerhouse semifinal games on Tuesday at home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
France, who entered the tournament as one of the top FIFA teams, outscored their opponents 14-2. Mbappe, the 2022 Golden Boot Award winner, has scored eight goals this time, tying Lionel Messi as the top scorer and one goal shy of the Argentina captain’s total of 21 at the World Cup.
France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said: “Of course, we’re confident in what we’ve done so far, and we have to be.” “But we have always retained this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the sport.”
Mbappe, 27, joins Pele as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final, with 20 goals in 20 World Cup games, including a goal in the 2018 win over Croatia. Coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappé, who was sent off after scoring in the 77th minute in Les Bleus’ quarter-final win over Morocco, is physically fine.
Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already played in two semi-final matches against Spain and France. He scored in the 2024 European Championship semi-final, just days shy of his 17th birthday, in a 2-1 win, and Spain won 5-4 in last year’s Nations League.
“In my opinion, if France has to fear anyone, it’s us,” Yamal said after Spain’s quarterfinal victory over Belgium. “We were the ones who beat them before.”
The teenager has only scored one goal in 10 on target this World Cup and is still suffering from a problem with his left hamstring. He missed the final weeks of the season with Spanish club Barcelona.
“This is the most important match I will play,” Yamal said before the match, adding that the best birthday present would be a win and a place in the final. “We’re all very excited, especially me.”
French defender Jules Kounde also plays for Barcelona, so he knows Yamal well and did not feel disrespected by his earlier comments.
“He always does it (against Barcelona). He has great faith in his own virtues and in the virtues of the team he plays for,” Kounde said in translated comments. “Just more motivation for him, that’s all.”
Spain have outscored their opponents 10-1 since a surprising goalless draw with Cape Verde in their group stage opener, but La Roja have scored decisive late goals from late substitute Merino in their last two games. And goalkeeper Unai Simon set a World Cup record for 650 minutes without conceding a goal until Belgium scored in the 41st minute in the quarter-final match.
“I think from the first game until today, the team needed to find its rhythm. We haven’t seen each other for a long time,” said Spanish midfielder Alex Baena, adding that with each game and practice, “the team has gotten better.”
Merino scored in the 88th minute in Friday’s 2-1 win over Belgium. This came after the Arsenal forward scored in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to give Arsenal a 1-0 win against Portugal in the Round of 16, at the same stadium where Spain’s semi-finals will be held.
Quartet of past winners of the 2026 World Cup semi-finals
This will be the first World Cup since 1990 in which all four semifinalists are former champions.
Messi and defending champion Argentina, who defeated France to win the title in 2022, will face England in the other semi-final match in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The championship match will be held Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across the river from New York. The third place match will be held on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
France defeated Spain 3-1 in the last 16 in Germany in 2006, the only previous World Cup match.
Both teams have won World Cups since then, with Spain winning their only title in 2010 and France winning their second in 2018.
France, who play on the Bastille Day holiday, are aiming to join five-time champions Brazil and four-time champions Germany as the only teams to reach three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil did it in 1994, 1998 and 2002, winning two and losing one to hosts France along the way.
Germany’s victory in 1990 came after finishing runners-up in the previous two World Cups, when they played as West Germany.
Argentina defeated France on penalties in 2022 after a 3-3 draw.
It is France’s seventh time in the semi-finals and fifth in the past eight World Cups. Spain only reached the semi-finals in 1950 and then in 2010 when they were chasing the title.
Say goodbye to Dallas at the 2026 World Cup
AT&T Stadium in North Texas hosted a conference-record ninth game, and the building that has hosted the Super Bowl and the NCAA championship games in football and men’s basketball has had several superstar moments over the past month.
Messi scored three goals in Argentina’s two group matches, the first of which came on June 22, after missing a penalty kick, and the first of his two goals in a 2–0 win over Austria, breaking the World Cup scoring record. He added another goal as a late substitute in the final group match against Jordan on June 27.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old superstar from Portugal, completed his sixth and final World Cup appearance in the Round of 16, a 1-0 loss to Spain on July 6.
