The dream of Spain to return to the final of the World Cup, 16 years after their only conquest and led by a rising Lamine Yamal, passes on Tuesday by eliminating the French national team in Dallas, two-time world champions and the team that has given the best impressions in the tournament, with Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in great form.
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The Spanish national team faces the definitive leap; leaving behind the favorite of the competition, the team with the greatest offensive repertoire, which makes its attack its greatest defense. France has conceded only one more goal than Spain (2), because they usually play in the opponent’s half.
But the team of Luis de la Fuente, the least scored against with a record included by Unai Simón (650 minutes) arrives at the semifinals full of confidence. From the delegation it is defended that being among the top four in the world, something only achieved in 2010, when they were champions, and in Brazil 1950 – there were no knockouts but a final group stage -, is already a success, but they want more.
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The goal remains marked on the calendar: the final on July 19 in New Jersey. For this, Spain must eliminate France in the semifinals, as they have done in the last two tournaments where they faced each other, both with Luis de la Fuente in charge and with a final victory.
Spain has eliminated France in the last two tournaments where they faced each other, both with Luis de la Fuente in charge and with a final victory: 2-1 in the 2024 Eurocup and 5-4 in the 2025 Nations League.
Interestingly, that match marks the change for France. In the image of Spain, the French coach, Didier Deschamps, rejuvenated the team, with an eye on the World Cup, and gave it more speed. Barcola, Doue, Olise… a repertoire that, along with the efficiency of Mbappé and Dembélé, has allowed them to reach the semifinals with a full set of victories.
Because it is about efficiency. France has shot as many times as Spain (110) and scored 5 more goals, while De la Fuente’s team has had to resort to opportunism in the final minutes by Mikel Merino, hero against Portugal and Belgium, to survive.
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Spain, in any case, still awaits the best version of Lamine Yamal, the great star, a phenomenon in the United States who appears in commercials and billboards and is recognizable to the general public.
The only big star whose breakthrough is still awaited leads Spain’s mentality of not being afraid of France, despite Les Bleus having won 17 of their last 20 World Cup matches and having lost only two official matches in two years. But those two defeats, precisely, have been against Luis de la Fuente’s team.
Deschamps, meanwhile, recovers Aurélien Tchoaumeni, absent in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, which may relegate Manu Koné to the bench.
This Tuesday, at the AT&T in Dallas, where Spain ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career, De la Fuente’s team faces the greatest possible challenge, with the hope of securing a spot on Sunday at Metlife in New York/New Jersey, to play for sewing a second star on their jersey.
France vs. Spain, LIVE
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With EFE.
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