Spain Meets France in World Cup Semifinal – Clash of Giants with Historical Significance

Tough Roads to the Semifinal

On the way to the semifinal, however, the favorites had to work to varying degrees. "Frankreich hatte Mühe mit Paraguay (1:0)," writes ZDF reporter Lukas Zahrer. Argentina needed extra time against Cape Verde (3:2), and England "drehte erst spät einen Rückstand gegen die DR Kongo (2:1)." The top four spared each other because "vermeintlich starke Nationen wie Deutschland, Brasilien und die Niederlande schon scheiterten, bevor sie überhaupt auf ein Top-Vier-Team treffen konnten."

Germany dropped two places following its round-of-16 exit and now sits at number twelve, "hinter Mexiko und Kolumbien." The FIFA ratings are constructed at final tournaments so that points cannot drop – "auch nicht bei Niederlagen." However, there are especially maximum points awarded for wins from the quarterfinals onward. "Schon in der inoffiziellen aktuellen Tabelle ist Englands Vorsprung auf Platz fünf gewachsen, Frankreich hat sich auf Platz eins geschossen."

Deschamps Ahead of Third Consecutive World Cup Final

France thus leads the rankings as number one. Should the "Équipe Tricolore" reach the final, it would be the fourth World Cup final appearance in the last seven tournaments. For coach Didier Deschamps, following 2018 and 2022, it would be the third consecutive qualification for a World Cup final – "das hat bisher noch kein Nationaltrainer geschafft." The 57-year-old is approaching the end of his tenure as French national team manager, as Zahrer notes with reference to the formulation "scheidender Teamchef."

The Spanish federation goes into the duel with its 65-year-old coach Luis de la Fuente, who told the Süddeutsche Zeitung before the tournament: "Ich mag schönen Fußball." In the Spanish football press, however, warnings are issued before the semifinal against too much aestheticism. The newspaper Marca demands: "Spanien wird die beste Version von Lamine brauchen. Er hat nicht mehr viel Zeit, diese zu finden." The paper Sport sees the match as "Spanien trifft auf den Giganten des Turniers" and thus assigns the roles more to the opponent.

Yamal as Spain's Key Player

The central figure for Spain is Lamine Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday – one day before the semifinal. When winning the 2024 European Championship, Yamal, then 16 years old, scored a goal against France in the semifinal. Spain won 2:1 at the time. "Wir haben die EM gewonnen, obwohl ich nur ein Tor erzielt habe," Yamal recalled. At the 2025 Nations League, he also scored twice in the semifinal against France; overall, the duel ended 5:4 in Spain's favor.

At this World Cup, Yamal has so far managed only one goal – in the 4:0 against Saudi Arabia. In the current 2025/26 season, he recorded 24 goals and 18 assists in 45 competitive matches for FC Barcelona under coach Hansi Flick. "Wenn Frankreich jemanden fürchten muss, dann uns," Yamal said before the match. "Wenn jemand Angst haben sollte, dann sie, wir haben keine." Regarding his own goal tally in the USA, he said: "Wenn wir die WM gewinnen, wird sich niemand mehr dafür interessieren, wie viele Tore ich geschossen habe."

His coach de la Fuente publicly relies on the youngster: "Der große Tag von Lamine Yamal kommt noch bei dieser WM. Ich hoffe, es ist morgen – oder im Finale, wenn wir uns qualifizieren." Before his time as national team coach, de la Fuente spent many years as a coaching instructor at the Spanish federation. He prefers a clear understanding of roles: "Ich glaube an Spezialisten. Ich mag Außenverteidiger, die die Linie entlanggehen, Flügelspieler, die auf dem Flügel sind, Mittelfeldspieler, die im Mittelfeld sind, Stürmer, die stürmen."

Mbappé at the Center of the French

On the other side, Kylian Mbappé is the anchor for the French. The striker plays his club career at Real Madrid and has accumulated eight goals and three assists in six games at this World Cup – only in the match against Norway did he fail to score. In the quarterfinal against Morocco (2:0), Mbappé took a knock to the ankle and, after being substituted, took a seat on the bench. "Ich habe einen Schlag auf den Knöchel bekommen, aber es ist alles in Ordnung," the 27-year-old said. Coach Deschamps confirmed: Mbappé "ist 100 Prozent fit und hat normal trainiert."

Mbappé is part of a recent French success story. In 2018, France secured the World Cup title with a team "die auf defensiver Stabilität und gnadenlosem Konterspiel aufgebaut war." In 2022, the team relied "stark auf Kylian Mbappés individuelle Brillanz." Center-back Ibrahima Konate warns against premature final euphoria: "Wir bleiben bescheiden, wir werden nicht in diese Falle tappen."

The distribution of roles before the match reads like a classic stylistic moment. The ZDF article describes the duel as "Offensiv-Spektakel gegen Abwehrbollwerk." Spain's style of play at this World Cup combines possession football with a "direkteren, vertikaleren und mutigeren Ansatz" than in the days of the dominant Spanish team around 2010. Mikel Oyarzabal has risen to become Spain's top scorer with four tournament goals, even though he did not touch the ball in the first 30 minutes of the tournament – and missed the last World Cup four years ago due to a torn cruciate ligament. Mikel Merino scored the 1:0 in stoppage time of the round-of-16 match and netted the decisive 2:1 in the 88th minute of the quarterfinal.

Spain's Style of Play: Possession Plus Verticality

In the round of the last 16, Austria tried to double up on Yamal on the right wing with the duo of Konrad Laimer and Marcel Sabitzer – Spain won and exploited its counter-pressing, which Austria "nicht zurechtkam." In the quarterfinal against Belgium, two "Abstauber-Tore" were enough for Spain to advance; Belgium was the first team to score a goal against Spain at this World Cup, with the match ending 1:2.

Statistically, Spain travels with confidence: Since the 0:2 loss to Scotland on March 28, 2023, the "Furia Roja" has played 45 international matches and suffered only one defeat since – a 0:1 in a friendly against Colombia. "Seit Beginn der WM hat jeder dieses Spiel erwartet," Yamal said. "Für mich sind wir die beiden besten Mannschaften dieser WM."

France's coach Deschamps is restrained with advance praise. The question is whether the French defense can defuse the Spanish offensive fireworks – or whether Yamal & Co. will bend the game in their direction early. Should Spain lose, the disgrace for de la Fuente's team would be all the greater given that Yamal himself views the character of the match as revenge for the encounter at Euro 2024. The other semifinal between England and defending champions Argentina will be played on Wednesday in Atlanta; a possible final would take place five days later in East Rutherford near New York.

Kickoff in Arlington is on Tuesday at 9:00 PM local time, with the broadcast live on ZDF and ORF 1.