Tuesday, 14 July | Dallas Stadium
14:00 (Dallas) | 21:00 (Paris) | 21:00 (Madrid)
France are just one game away from advancing to a third consecutive FIFA World Cup™ final, but in Spain they face the reigning European champions and a side also in impressive form.
Didier Deschamps’ side sauntered through the group stage with three consecutive wins against , and , before making equally short work of in the Round of 32. Les Bleus then showed a different side to their game as they disposed of a stubborn in the Round of 16, following up with another authoritative display to eliminate in the quarter-finals.
After being held to a shock scoreless draw by in their Group H opener Spain have gradually found their groove in North America, progressing in first place by defeating and and then sweeping past in the Round of 32. Late goals were the order of the day in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals, as Mikel Merino came off the bench to dispose of first and then .
An eighth semi-final appearance offers two-time world champions France the opportunity to become only the second European nation to contest three successive World Cup finals after West Germany (1982, 1986, 1990). The one constant for the team during this golden period has been , who scored in the 4-2 triumph against Croatia at Russia 2018, plundered a hat-trick in the sensational 3-3 draw with Argentina at Qatar 2022 – as well as scoring in the penalty-shootout defeat – and has eight goals so far this year.
That means the 27-year-old has an astounding 20 goals from 20 World Cup games, but he is far from the only attacking threat for the French, who also boast the mercurial talents of Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Desire Doue, and Bradley Barcola. Defensively, too, they are a resolute unit, with Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba marshalling a backline that has conceded just twice so far — and not at all in the knockout stage — while Manu Kone and Adrien Rabiot bring balance to central midfield.
This is only Spain’s third appearance in the final four, with La Roja making the final group stage in 1950 and becoming champions at South Africa 2010 — since when they have failed to progress to the latter rounds after being eliminated at the group stage in 2014 and Round of 16 at each of the past two editions. Luis de la Fuente’s side will come into this game full of confidence having emerged victorious from the last two meetings with France though, both of which also came in semi-finals courtesy of a 2-1 win at UEFA EURO 2024 and 5-4 triumph in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League.
Rodri, Pedri and Dani Olmo rarely cede control in midfield, while Unai Simon’s goal has been breached just once thus far, with Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi a terrifically-composed centre-back pairing. Full-backs Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro are just as adept going forward as they are defensively, adding to a plethora of attacking talents including, but not limited to, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal.
The winner of this tantalising encounter will punch their ticket to the World Cup final on 19 July at New York New Jersey Stadium, where they will take on one of Norway, England, Argentina or Switzerland.
Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Kone, Rabiot; Olise, Dembele, Doue; Mbappe
Unai Simon; Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal
"There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning. Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up. We’re in the semi-finals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go. We realise that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready to face anything." Kylian Mbappe, France forward
"It's fair to think we can beat France; we're going to work hard for them. We're the only team that has managed to beat them twice. A great team is going to face another great team." Luis de la Fuente, Spain head coach
Despite boasting 17 appearances each at the FIFA World Cup, this will somewhat surprisingly be just the second time France and Spain have clashed on the world's biggest stage.
Their only previous encounter came in the Round of 16 at Germany 2006, when David Villa opened the scoring for Spain with a first-half penalty but Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, and Zinedine Zidane all struck back to secure a 3-1 win for France.
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is a jaw-dropping example of stadium architecture that will be playing host to its ninth and final World Cup 2026 fixture here. Since opening in 2009, it has been the home of five-time Super Bowl winners the Dallas Cowboys, and has also hosted the Concacaf Gold Cup and Mexico national team matches.
This iconic venue hosted five group-stage games, with highlights including Netherlands and Japan's enthralling 2-2 draw, England's 4-2 victory over Croatia and two Lionel Messi-inspired wins for Argentina. It has since been the setting for the Côte d’Ivoire-Norway and Australia-Egypt Round of 32 ties, as well as Spain's dramatic injury-time win over Portugal in the Round of 16.
Sources: FIFA Official
