ARLINGTON, Texas — France and Spain have shared a rare trait at this year’s World Cup: neither team has trailed at any point in the tournament. That changes Tuesday, when the two powers meet at AT&T Stadium — home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys — in the first of the World Cup semifinals, with only one side advancing to Sunday’s championship match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
France entered the tournament as FIFA’s top-ranked team and has outscored opponents 14-2, led by Kylian Mbappé. Spain, powered by teenage winger Lamine Yamal and late heroics from substitute Mikel Merino, has outscored opponents 10-1 since opening group play with a scoreless draw against Cape Verde. The matchup also carries historical weight: it is the first World Cup since 1990 in which all four semifinalists are former champions.
Mbappé’s scoring pace meets Spain’s late-game punch
Mbappé, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals at this World Cup to match Lionel Messi for the tournament scoring lead. He is also one behind Messi’s career World Cup record of 21 goals. The 27-year-old has 20 World Cup goals in 20 matches overall, including one in France’s 2018 final win over Croatia, when he joined Pelé as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final.
France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said the team’s approach has been rooted in confidence and humility. “We are focused,” Rabiot said. “We are confident, of course, with the course we have done so far, and we have to be, but always with this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the competition.”
France’s quarterfinal win over Morocco ended 2-0, with Mbappé scoring before exiting in the 77th minute. Mbappé has said he is fine heading into the semifinal.
Spain arrives with a different storyline: a team that has increasingly leaned on decisive goals late in matches. Merino, described as a clutch goal-scoring substitute, delivered the winner in the 88th minute of Spain’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Belgium on Friday. That followed his goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time in a 1-0 round-of-16 win over Portugal — also at AT&T Stadium, the site of Tuesday’s semifinal.
Spain’s defensive record has been a major part of its run. Goalkeeper Unai Simón set a World Cup record with 650 minutes without allowing a goal before Belgium scored in the 41st minute of the quarterfinal. Spain midfielder Alex Baena said the team needed time to find its rhythm after being apart, adding that with more games and practices “the better the team has been.”
Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has been central to Spain’s attack. He has one goal at this World Cup and has put 10 shots on target. The report notes he entered the tournament still nursing a left hamstring issue that forced him to miss the final weeks of the season for Barcelona.
Yamal has also already been part of two semifinal wins with Spain over France in recent years. He scored in a 2-1 win in the 2024 European Championship semifinals when he was just shy of his 17th birthday, and Spain later won 5-4 in Nations League play last year. After Spain’s quarterfinal win over Belgium, Yamal said, “I believe if France has to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion. We were the ones that knocked them out before.”
France defender Jules Koundé, a Barcelona teammate of Yamal, said he did not take the comments as disrespectful, calling them a sign of confidence in translated remarks.
What’s at stake: history, finals, and a rare World Cup meeting
France and Spain are both playing at their 17th World Cup, yet have faced each other only once on the World Cup stage. That meeting came in the 2006 tournament in Germany, when France beat Spain 3-1 in a round-of-16 match. Both nations have since lifted the trophy: Spain won its only World Cup title in 2010, while France claimed its second in 2018.
France is making its seventh semifinal appearance and its fifth in the last eight World Cups. Spain’s only other semifinal appearances were in 1950 and 2010, the latter ending in a title run.
There is also a broader milestone in play for France. The report notes France is trying to join five-time champion Brazil and four-time winner Germany as the only teams to reach three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil accomplished that from 1994 to 2002, while Germany’s run included the 1990 championship after two runner-up finishes (as West Germany).
Tuesday’s match will be played at AT&T Stadium, which will host its tournament-high ninth game. The venue has already seen major moments during the World Cup, including Messi’s three goals in Argentina’s two group games there and Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup match, a 1-0 round-of-16 loss to Spain on July 6.
The other semifinal is Wednesday in Atlanta, where Messi and defending champion Argentina — which beat France for the title in 2022 after a 3-3 draw and a penalty shootout — will face England. The third-place match is Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the championship match is Sunday at MetLife Stadium.