{"id":55098,"date":"2026-07-14T15:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/55098\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:37:07","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-first-world-cup-semifinal-spain-vs-france-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/55098\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about the first World Cup semifinal: Spain vs. France | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(CNN) \u2014 Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on all things World Cup. To subscribe, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here we go then, the first semifinal of this year\u2019s World Cup<\/a> is upon us and it\u2019s a true clash of heavyweights \u2013 world No. 1 France up against world No. 3 Spain.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tie that many had predicted before a ball was even kicked in North America and one that is finely balanced.<\/p>\n

France is just about the favorite today given its superior form this summer, but Spain has beaten Les Bleus on the last two occasions at knockout tournaments so will feel confident heading into the tie.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have everything you need to know about this World Cup semifinal, starting with Spain\u2019s not-so-secret weapon.<\/p>\n

The Main Thing: Can Lamine Yamal finally turn up when it really matters?<\/p>\n

I appreciate it\u2019s crazy to put so much pressure on the shoulders of a player who only turned 19 yesterday. But Lamine Yamal\u2019s rise through the ranks has been so spectacular that it almost belies his age.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s already a three-time La Liga winner for Barcelona, a European champion with Spain and now stands just two wins away from adding the World Cup to his trophy cabinet this summer.<\/p>\n

So far, though, the winger has struggled to make a big impact this summer, perhaps still feeling the effects of the hamstring injury that saw him miss the final weeks of the domestic season.<\/p>\n

He was teased back into the starting lineup during the early stages of the tournament so now, in theory, he should be fully fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the most important match of my career so far,\u201d he said yesterday<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re all very excited, I would put it in the top spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

France will be very wary of Yamal. The teenager is simply unstoppable when he gets in the flow and has threatened to explode into action on more than one occasion during this competition.<\/p>\n

He may have scored just one goal so far, but no player in the tournament has received the ball more behind the defensive line. That shows just how much intent there is in Yamal\u2019s game. He\u2019s desperate to cause havoc; he\u2019s just been missing that final touch that is often so lethal.<\/p>\n

His threat is so big that teams have tasked at least two players to mark Yamal during matches. Against Belgium in the quarterfinal, the youngster often had three people on him whenever he received the ball. It means he hasn\u2019t been able to fully show what he can do.<\/p>\n

Against France, though, he\u2019s likely to have a little more space with his opposition more worried about attacking rather than its defending responsibilities. It\u2019s this reason that Yamal often turns up against the bigger teams, as he\u2019s done several times in the Champions League over the years.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s perhaps lazy to boil this game down to a battle between Yamal and France\u2019s Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 \u2013 although some will certainly do so. Yes, both are their nation\u2019s heroes, but there are so many other world-class players on display that the win could easily be decided by someone else other than these two forwards (Spanish editor\u2019s note: Mikel Merino, I\u2019m looking at you).<\/p>\n

For Yamal, it\u2019s all about seeing the game in its context and maintaining a perspective that allows him to enjoy the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are situations in life way more difficult than a football match,\u201d Yamal said when asked if he\u2019s worried about the pressure of a semifinal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always think that I have to be calm because that\u2019s all it is, a game. When it\u2019s over, life goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here to read more about how Yamal became the teenage prodigy he is today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Inside look at La Roja<\/p>\n

As I said, it\u2019s not just Lamine Yamal who can win a game for Spain. In truth, it\u2019s gotten this far without its star man influencing matches like normal.<\/p>\n

Instead, La Roja\u2019s found a way to grind teams down. No nation in the World Cup has enjoyed more possession than Spain (60%). Similarly, no player in the tournament has made more passes than Spanish midfielder Rodri, with the 30-year-old setting the tone for his team\u2019s play.<\/p>\n

But that level of control only shows half of the picture. On the other hand, no team in the World Cup has had more shots off target than La Roja \u2013 a statistic that speaks to its biggest problem of being clinical in front of goal.<\/p>\n

Mikel Oyarzabal is Spain\u2019s starting striker and, despite not being considered a true superstar, he\u2019s done a great job in leading the line for the country in recent years.<\/p>\n

Oyarzabal\u2019s form in recent knockout matches, though, hasn\u2019t been great and Spain has twice been bailed out by late goals from make-shift forward Mikel Merino.<\/p>\n

Against France, you expect chances in front of goal to be limited. It means Spain will have to rediscover a clinical edge that\u2019s been missing so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow\u2019s match will demand everything of us and it could well be a final, the same as England vs. Argentina,\u201d Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best four teams in the world are in the semifinals, according to the FIFA rankings. We have to get better, of course, because if you settle, normally, things don\u2019t go well for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside look at Les Bleus<\/p>\n

As for France, it will be looking for more of the same as the country celebrates Bastille Day (a national holiday) today.<\/p>\n

Les Bleus have been so impressive in this tournament at both ends of the pitch and it\u2019s hard to really see a fault.<\/p>\n

Obviously, so much has been made of the attacking lineup, with Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 leading the way with eight goals already. The 27-year-old now has a total of 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches and sits just one behind Lionel Messi\u2019s all-time record.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s backed up by a ridiculous roster of talent, notably Michael Olise who has been a joy to behold this summer. The 24-year-old has the most assists out of anyone in the tournament (five) and has this uncanny ability to drift past players and pick out a killer pass.<\/p>\n

Defensively, France has also only conceded twice so far \u2013 a record bettered only by Spain which has let in one goal.<\/p>\n

Tactically, then, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess how things will pan out. Will France let Spain keep the ball and look to counter? Or will it continue dominating matches from the start and smothering its opponent?<\/p>\n

Luckily for us, we can just sit back and watch (Spanish editor\u2019s note: Not me, Ben. Not me\u2026).<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain have great quality on the ball,\u201d France midfielder Warren Za\u00efre-Emery said. \u201cWe have the qualities to attack quickly on \u2060the counter, to keep possession ourselves and to defend well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe course of the game will dictate things. I cannot say now exactly how the match will unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quote of the Day<\/p>\n

It feels like this France team is playing for more than just national pride today.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite clear how tight the squad is this summer, with genuine friendships off the pitch helping to fuel the brilliant performances on it.<\/p>\n

It seems that stretches to manager Didier Deschamps as well, who announced previously that this would be his last tournament in charge of the national team.<\/p>\n

Deschamps also suffered the loss of his mother earlier in the competition, and midfielder Adrien Rabiot says that\u2019s proved to be an extra motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to give everything, especially knowing that this is his last competition in charge of the France team. This is the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Erling Haaland arrives back in Norway\u2026 with a stuffed raccoon<\/p>\n

The perfect end to an amazing World Cup for Norway striker Erling Haaland.<\/p>\n

As if to sum up why the world has fallen in love with the soccer superstar, he stepped out of the team plane with a taxidermy raccoon stuffed under his arm.<\/p>\n

What a performance.<\/p>\n

Conspiracy theory hunting in Dallas<\/p>\n

Don Riddell is our man on the ground in Dallas for the first semifinal. He\u2019s been busy having a walk around the city and chatting to fans about the tournament so far.<\/p>\n

If you take a short walk from Spain\u2019s hotel in downtown Dallas, you\u2019ll stumble across one of the most infamous landmarks in modern history: Dealey Plaza, scene of President John F. Kennedy\u2019s assassination in 1963. The former Texas Book Depository, from where Lee Harvey Oswald is alleged to have fired the fateful shots, still towers over the scene and two macabre white X\u2019s in the middle of the road denote the precise locations where the course of US history changed in an instant.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a place of remembrance, history and so much curiosity; this is arguably the so-called birthplace of the modern-day conspiracy theory because some have been unable to accept that Oswald acted alone. Soccer fans were here and our producer observed some waiting for breaks in the traffic to pose with their Spanish and French flags by the second X in the middle of the road, in what was quite a bizarre scene.<\/p>\n

Given our surroundings and the theories around Kennedy\u2019s death, I asked some of them if they believed any of the conspiracy theories that have been swirling about this World Cup \u2013 including the charge that Argentina has been favored by the referees, as Egypt\u2019s manager and players so forcefully alleged a week ago<\/a>. One politely declined to comment, he said he worked for a broadcast rights-holder \u2013 fair enough. Another became demonstrably anxious at the thought of being recorded for an interview and his pace quickened as he walked away from the spot where Abraham Zapruder filmed the assassination.<\/p>\n

However, I did find an American who was prepared to indulge me for a moment. \u201cLike the JFK thing,\u201d said Chuck Williams, gesturing over his shoulder at the second X mark.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easier to assume the worst, and it may not actually turn out to be true. I\u2019ve always taken the view that it\u2019s harder to keep people quiet than it is to actually execute something along those lines,\u201d Williams added. \u201cAre FIFA this wonderful organization that are worthy of praise? Probably not, but as far as the conspiracy towards rigging games, it seems like it would be pretty tough to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something I think we can all (well, the vast majority of us) agree on.<\/p>\n

The Final Whistle: Folarin Balogun speaks about the red card controversy<\/p>\n

Just when you thought you couldn\u2019t possibly hear any more about that red card controversy<\/a> that derailed the USA\u2019s World Cup campaign a few weeks ago, we are back with some more.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the man of the moment, Folarin Balogun, has spoken about the incident on \u201cCBS Mornings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in shock. It wasn\u2019t even a tackle,\u201d he said when speaking about the moment he was sent off. \u201cI just had to accept the decision and try to be there for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only not everyone accepted the decision \u2013 we\u2019re looking at you, Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy. I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was something that\u2019s so unique,\u201d Balogun added.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. There was a lot of outside noise and that\u2019s hard to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The-CNN-Wire<\/p>\n

\u2122 & \u00a9 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(CNN) \u2014 Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3458,17],"class_list":["post-55098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-social","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}