{"id":50768,"date":"2026-07-13T15:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/50768\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:34:11","slug":"fifa-world-cup-key-players-to-watch-as-france-play-spain-in-semifinal-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/50768\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA World Cup: Key players to watch as France play Spain in semifinal | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"World<\/a><\/p>\n

Spain-France clash is filled with superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal, among others.<\/p>\n

European giants France and Spain will compete for a place in the World Cup final on Tuesday, as the first semifinal<\/a> kicks off in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Both sides have some star names among their ranks, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Lamine Yamal set to play a key role in securing their country\u2019s place in Sunday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at some of the key players who will decide Tuesday\u2019s first semifinal.<\/p>\n

\"KylianKylian Mbappe in action against Paraguay during their round of 16 match [Bill Streicher\/Reuters]Kylian Mbappe<\/p>\n

World Cup 2026 statistics:<\/p>\n

Goals: 8
\nAssists: 3
\nMinutes played: 563<\/p>\n

The French captain has been in remarkable form at this World Cup, breaking numerous records<\/a> along the way.<\/p>\n

After bagging four goals in the group stages, Mbappe has now scored in every knockout round so far, and he has also provided a number of assists.<\/p>\n

The Real Madrid forward is in the form of his life and is the biggest threat in a star-studded Les Bleus XI.<\/p>\n

After scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final<\/a> loss to Argentina in Qatar, Mbappe will be determined to go one step further this year.<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Olise in action against Paraguay [Bill Streicher\/Reuters]Michael Olise<\/p>\n

World Cup 2026 statistics:<\/p>\n

Goals: 0
\nAssists: 5
\nMinutes played: 488<\/p>\n

Michael Olise may not have got himself on the scoresheet at this World Cup so far, but he is the player that has provided the most assists.<\/p>\n

He has set up five goals for France, and his partnership with Mbappe has been a highlight of the tournament.<\/p>\n

The Bayern Munich midfielder has the technical ability to unlock defences, and he will be a key attacking threat in the semifinal with Spain.<\/p>\n

\"France\u2019sFrance\u2019s Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring their second goal against Morocco [Mike Segar\/Reuters]Ousmane Dembele<\/p>\n

World Cup 2026 statistics:<\/p>\n

Goals: 5
\nAssists: 2
\nMinutes played: 492<\/p>\n

The dynamic Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) forward came into this tournament looking for his first-ever World Cup goal. He now has five of them.<\/p>\n

He scored a first-half hat-trick<\/a> in a group game with Norway and also bagged the second in France\u2019s 2-0 win over Morocco in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Les Bleus have been having their own Golden Boot competition, with Dembele pushing Mbappe all the way.<\/p>\n

The pair have now scored 13 goals between them at this World Cup, a feat that has not been achieved by two players from the same country since Brazil\u2019s Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002.<\/p>\n

\"Spain\u2019sSpain\u2019s Lamine Yamal celebrates after the match as Spain qualify for the semifinals [Gary Vasquez\/Reuters]Lamine Yamal<\/p>\n

World Cup 2026 statistics:<\/p>\n

Goals: 1
\nAssists: 0
\nMinutes played: 405<\/p>\n

At a tournament where stars like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane have been prolific, 18-year-old Lamine Yamal has just one goal to date, in a routine 4-0 group drubbing of Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite this, the Barcelona teenage sensation remains a key attacking threat for La Roja and scored against France in the semifinals of Euro 2024.<\/p>\n

He was awarded player of the match for his performance in Spain\u2019s quarterfinal win over Belgium<\/a>, and he has also recorded the most successful dribbles at the tournament so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I can contribute even if I don\u2019t score. I know my movements draw in many opponents, so I do everything I can to help the team,\u201d Yamal said after Spain\u2019s victory over Belgium.<\/p>\n

\"MikelMikel Oyarzabal, left, celebrates scoring his team\u2019s first goal during the round of 32 match between Spain and Austria [Etienne Laurent\/AFP]Mikel Oyarzabal<\/p>\n

World Cup 2026 statistics:<\/p>\n

Goals: 4
\nAssists: 1
\nMinutes played: 519<\/p>\n

The Real Sociedad forward is Spain\u2019s top scorer at this World Cup, and he will be La Roja\u2019s biggest hope for goals in Tuesday\u2019s semifinal.<\/p>\n

He scored six goals in six games during World Cup qualification and has followed that up with four goals at the tournament proper.<\/p>\n

Oyarzabal also has experience of scoring crucial goals at the business end of tournaments. He bagged an 86th-minute winner against England in the Euro 2024 final<\/a>, proving he can perform under pressure on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n

La Roja will hope for more of the same this week.<\/p>\n

\"MikelMikel Merino celebrates scoring his team\u2019s second goal against Belgium in the quarterfinals
[Paul Ellis\/AFP]Mikel Merino<\/p>\n

World Cup 2026 statistics:<\/p>\n

Goals: 2
\nAssists: 0
\nMinutes played: 180<\/p>\n

If Spain need a goal against France in the closing stages of the semifinal, then Luis de la Fuente will be turning to one man on his bench.<\/p>\n

Mikel Merino has twice played the role of super-sub at this World Cup, coming off the bench to score late winners against Portugal<\/a> and Belgium.<\/p>\n

The Arsenal midfielder is unlikely to start against Les Bleus on Tuesday, but he remains a key part of Spain\u2019s squad and will pose a real threat against tired legs towards the end of the match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain-France clash is filled with superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal, among others. European giants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[606,73,367,5,189,6,230,353,187,358,457,409],"class_list":["post-50768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-belgium","tag-europe","tag-football","tag-france","tag-morocco","tag-news","tag-spain","tag-sport","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}