France, Spain, England and Argentina are now two wins away from the World Cup title, with a place in the final at stake and the margin for error almost non-existent.
France have shown their quality across the pitch in reaching the last four. Ousmane Dembele sealed their quarter-final victory to take his tally to five goals, while Michael Olise leads the competition with five assists as the creative force behind Didier Deschamps’ side. Spain, meanwhile, have relied on late contributions from substitute Mikel Merino to edge past both Portugal and Belgium in the knockout rounds. Four-goal Mikel Oyarzabal has blanked in those two matches, and there is a sense that Luis de la Fuente’s side have yet to produce their best football. Star winger Lamine Yamal — who will turn 19 on the eve of the tie — has scored only once in the tournament, against Saudi Arabia in the group stage. Spain will hope the semi-final is the stage where he finally delivers on his talent.
Spain arrive in the last four on the longest unbeaten run in their history, having gone 36 matches without defeat since a 1-0 loss to Colombia in March 2024, winning 27 and drawing nine during that period. This will be just the second World Cup meeting between France and Spain, with France having come from behind to win 3-1 when the sides last met at the 2006 World Cup in the round of 16.
The other semi-final between Argentina and England is a fixture steeped in passion and rivalry, falling 40 years after Diego Maradona almost single-handedly eliminated England at the quarter-final stage in Mexico. Neither side have been at their free-flowing best, battling and scrapping through the knockout rounds to reach this point. Lionel Messi, who became the World Cup’s all-time top goalscorer during this tournament, leads the Golden Boot race alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe, with both players on eight goals.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
