"There are two possibilities: either they reach three World Cup finals in a row, or we beat them three times in a row," Lamine Yamal put it, and those words capture exactly what is on the line in front of 70,649 fans in Dallas. Opta's supercomputer makes France the favourites at 42.1%, with Spain given just 31.8%, but the history is messier than the numbers let on. For Spain manager Luis de la Fuente, this is a sixth semi-final duel with France, and a record of four wins and a single defeat hands La Furia Roja, as the Spanish side are known, real belief.
Kylian Mbappé arrives as the tournament's top scorer with eight goals and three assists, yet he runs into the meanest defence at the World Cup, one that has conceded only once in five matches. France's attacking power, sharpened by Barcola, Dembélé and Olise, meets Spanish discipline, where Mikel Oyarzabal's reliability and Mikel Merino's knack for decisive goals are the main threat. Two footballing philosophies go head to head. A ruthless contest awaits. France leaked goals in the group stage, yet kept a clean sheet in all three knockout fixtures, while Spain, for all their defensive solidity, keep drifting to the edge of a creative crisis going forward.
The winner walks off under the searing Dallas sun with a place in the final; for the loser, the dream of world glory ends for good on the fields of Texas.
