France v Spain: World Cup 2026 semi-final – live | 2026 World Cup
Important events
More from the post bag. “Hello Dallas Stadium! Olise’s touch in the warm-up is absolutely buttery, and he curls in a few from range for good measure. Merino, on the other hand, seems to be specially rehearsing for his inevitable 176th minute entry” – Tanay Padhi
“Luis de la Fuente and Didier Deschamps are two of the best coaches in this World Cup. The other two managers who have reached the semi-finals seem to have a tendency to decline during the match (and after the match). So the final four seem to assure us of a chaotic final. Kavanagh
“As an England fan my hope is to see us in the final, but we are falling into that struggle again. So is it possible for this game to end in three days at night? All the key players get red cards and the second yellow of the tournament? If this happens I can see us taking the final to at least extra time” – Fin
Another reminder that today’s game can easily go to extra time and penalties. I mean, you didn’t need to be reminded of that… but I needed an excuse to follow this beautiful gallery. Go ahead, get over it, we’ll still be here when you get back, just in time to kick off.
Unbeaten France have two rivals in the race for the golden boot. Kylian Mbappé leads the way with eight goals, while Ousmane Dembélé has five. The best player in Spain is Mikel Oyarzabal with four.
Tonight’s umpire will certainly be hoping to get in and out of the Dodge without getting wet. It was not a contest of the banner of officialdom, everything. So let’s give 35-year-old Salvadorian referee Iván Barton his flowers while we still can. This will be his fourth game in this World Cup; his key moment was the sending off of Miguel Almiron from Paraguay for gagging during their match against Turkey. His only red card so far, albeit one with dire consequences for the poor hot-headed soul in the TV booth. Barton also refereed Japan-Sweden and Switzerland-Colombia.
Pre-match mailbag. “If a team with Yamal and Rodri is considered underdogs in the competition, it says a lot about the other team. In fact, no other team has excited me as much as this French team (and I have been following football since 1982)” – krishnamoorthy v
“France and Spain have been able to control all the games they have played in the world cup so far. England and Argentina on the other hand can say that they have been taken to hell and back by the teams they played in the knockout round. If I can guess, today’s game will see one of the teams win with extraordinary goals and win the final. It is difficult to look at England or Argentina based on Argentina”
“I think we can be sure to look for the winners tonight, not only because of the high level of these teams compared to England and Argentina, but because the winners of the men’s and women’s world cups and the Euros always come out of the first semi-final. (I can’t find the statistics but I think it goes back to the huge number of tournaments I have to do.) for the qualifying countries, Fifa would be better off messing up the schedules of the rounds” – David Wall
“This should be a tough game.” My only comment is that Lucas Digne will always be appreciated by Evertonians after Rafa Benitez’s unfair dismissal from the city, and it is surprising that he starts the semi-final of the World Cup at the age of 32 after not being selected at all by Didier Deschamps in edition 202. he wants.” —Matt Burtz
“Those who say that there is not much between these two sides should apologize to the people of Andorra and try to take a long walk over the Pyrenees” – Peter Oh
So yes, that Euro 2024 semi-final. France uses it as fuel…
… while Spain gained strength from it.
France and Spain have met only once in the World Cup. That was 20 years ago, back in the day Les Bleus too many La Rojanumber (Euro 84 final, Euro 2000 quarter, all that).
Spain have had the best football of the tournament since then. Wins in the quarters of Euro 2012 and the semis of Euro 2024, as well as an unexpected 5-4 victory in the semi-finals of the Nations League last year. France has won the 2021 Nations League final.
Spain are unchanged following their win over Belgium. Mikel Merino, a match-winner in both of the last two rounds, must once again face the bench, while Fabian Ruiz gets the nod ahead of Pedri in midfield.
France made two changes to the team that started to beat Morocco. Aurélien Tchouaméni returns from injury to replace Manu Koné in midfield, while Bradley Barcola replaces Désiré Doué on the left wing.
Groups
France: Maignan, Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Olise, Barcola, Mbappe.
Subs: Samba, Risser, Gusto, Kone, Thuram, Kante, Konate, Zaire Emery, Theo Hernandez, Doue, Lucas Hernandez, Mateta, Cherki, Akliouche, Lacroix.
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal.
Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Gonzalez, Munoz, Iglesias.
Referee: Ivan Barton Cisneros (El Salvador).
This will be France’s eighth semi-final. Their record is excellent: three defeats (against Brazil in 1958 and West Germany in 1982 and 1986) followed by four wins (against Croatia in 1998, Portugal in 2006, Belgium in 2018 and Morocco in 2022).
In contrast, it is the second appearance of Spain in this category, although they can boast a 100 percent record, as they played in Germany in 2010. They also participated in the final pool of 1950, which could have been a wet squib but … it wasn’t.
Only four penalties so far. How much is the other price tonight? And if so… then what?!
Spain indeed he started slowly. That opening on par with Cape Verde, which admittedly doesn’t look too bad in retrospect. Later they went on to easily win over Saudi Arabia, before eliminating Uruguay. Despite this initial stutter, Spain topped Group H after all.
In the knockouts, where Spain have done enough without clicking into high gear … however … sweet.
France went through Group I without a hitch. They started slowly but eventually they went to Senegal. The two-hour storm during their meeting with Iraq was like water off a duck’s back. Then they get grade A against Norway B.
In the knockouts, where they have told their class, one way or another. And here we are.
In the beginning… This is how it all looked at the beginning of this odyssey. Not much has changed, let alone growing hope and expectation.
Background
France and Spain are about to compete in the semi-finals of the World Cup where they have been drawn against the two leading teams. It’s a show that can’t be oversold. So let’s not try. Kick-off in Dallas is at 8pm BST/3pm EST/5am AEST. It’s open!
