ARLINGTON: France and their lethal attack led by Kylian Mbappe will try to reach a third straight World Cup final on Tuesday when they take on a Spain side that combines flair with defensive steel.
More than a month after the expanded 48-team tournament began, the first semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, promises to be a mouth-watering spectacle.
France coach Didier Deschamps insisted on Monday that European champions Spain would be favourites, despite his own team’s dazzling performances.
“They attack well, they defend well, they don’t concede goals. It could be a spectacular game,” he said.
France have reached the last two World Cup finals, winning in 2018 in Russia and losing on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina four years ago in Qatar in an epic final despite a hat-trick from Mbappe.
Many observers feel that Spain, who have built momentum during the tournament, have the quality to win another title – but first they must stop France’s star-studded front line.
Real Madrid forward Mbappe, 27, has scored eight goals to lead the Golden Boot race alongside Messi.
Mbappe has an impressive supporting cast including Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
AFP learned that France will start speedy winger Bradley Barcola in place of his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Desire Doue on the left side of attack.
Deschamps has chosen Barcola for his speed in an area of the pitch where he will face Spanish star Lamine Yamal.
Defeat to Argentina in the final in Doha four years ago was a bitter experience for France and the desire for a rematch is strong – if Messi can lead his side past England in their semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Adding to France’s motivation, France coach Didier Deschamps, part of an elite group that has won the World Cup as a player and coach, is leaving after the tournament after 14 years in charge.
‘Forefoot’
In Yamal, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Monday by buying a jeweled necklace, Spain have the player likely to succeed Messi and Mbappe as football’s next superstar.
The Barcelona striker has improved steadily and won the man-of-the-match award in the 2-1 quarter-final win against Belgium.
The teenager pointed out that Spain have the upper hand on France after beating them 2-1 in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 and in a high-scoring Nations League semi-final in 2025 that ended 5-4.
His ideal birthday present, he insisted, would be a place in Sunday’s World Cup final.
“The best gift would be a win on Tuesday and a trip to New York,” he said.
Along with Yamal’s attacking guile and Mikel Merino’s goalscoring, Spain’s run to the semi-finals has been built on a rock-solid defense fielded by French-born Aymeric Laporte.
Belgium’s goal in the quarter-finals was the first Spain have conceded in the entire tournament.
Coach Luis de la Fuente, whose side play a possession-based style, said his team would go “on the front foot” against the French.
“We will have to think about their players. We will try to win these duels and will try to be on the front foot during the game, which imposes our style,” he said.
The winning team will face either England or Argentina, who will lock horns in the latest chapter of one of the game’s most compelling rivalries.
The history of fighting between the nations is peppered with incidents, set against an ongoing sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, in the South Atlantic.
The meeting will take place 40 years after Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal helped Argentina win 2-1 at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
England captain Harry Kane, who is competing against Messi and Mbappe for the Golden Boot, said his team would not be distracted by emotional baggage surrounding the game.
“From a player’s point of view, it’s us against a great team who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy mistakes, know how to slow the game down – like a lot of different teams you face throughout your career,” he said.
