The Road to the Semi-Finals
It is easy to forget that Spain's World Cup began with a scare — a goalless draw against Cape Verde in Atlanta in which 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha turned himself into a tournament icon. Everything since has been a steady escalation. La Roja recovered to win their group, eased past Austria 3–0 in the Round of 32 with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring either side of a Pedro Porro strike, and edged the tie of the Round of 16, Mikel Merino's stoppage-time strike beating Portugal 1–0. The Quarter-Final against Belgium was the same story with an extra act. Fabián Ruiz swept Spain ahead on the half-hour, Charles De Ketelaere — the man whose double had dismantled the USA in the previous round — levelled four minutes before the break, and the game settled into the taut, chess-match middle hour that has defined Spain's entire knockout run. Then, with two minutes of normal time remaining, Merino arrived from deep once again to win it, 2–1. Two rounds, two late Merino winners, and a knockout stage in which Spain have not trailed for a single minute.
De la Fuente's Machine — and Its Closer
Luis de la Fuente's Spain remain the fastest ball-circulation team left in the tournament, with Pedri and Gavi dictating tempo in a way no opponent has yet managed to disrupt for a full ninety minutes. But the knockout rounds have revealed the quality that may matter more: depth, and a taste for the late kill. Merino has now decided two consecutive ties from midfield, arriving in precisely the minutes when opponents allow themselves to think about extra time. Around the headline names, the machine simply hums — Fabián Ruiz produced his best match of the summer against Belgium and capped it with the opener, Martín Zubimendi has shared the deeper duties without any drop-off, and Unai Simón has been assured on the rare occasions opponents have broken through. The emotional centre of it all remains Lamine Yamal, who turns 19 the day before the Semi-Final and has spent the tournament playing with a maturity that makes the birthday feel like a typo. De la Fuente's message after Los Angeles was characteristically restrained — control the game, trust the structure — but within the camp the pattern is being read as proof that this squad can win every type of knockout match: the blowout, the siege, and now the slugging match.
Semi-Final Opponent: France — What Are Spain's Chances?
France at AT&T Stadium on Tuesday is the ultimate examination of that belief. Didier Deschamps' side are unbeaten, have scored in every match, have not trailed all tournament — and have not conceded a single knockout-stage goal, seeing off Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco without ever looking stretched. The run is built on N'Golo Kanté's screening, a miserly back line, and Kylian Mbappé's habit of settling tight games himself; his hour-mark opener against Morocco, followed six minutes later by Ousmane Dembélé's second, turned the most stubborn opponent of the round into a routine 2–0. Spain's path to victory is clear enough on paper: monopolise possession, drag Kanté out of his zone to free Pedri between the lines, and keep feeding Yamal against Theo Hernandez, the one matchup where France's aggression can be turned against them. The danger is equally clear — every touch Spain take in France's half is an invitation for the fastest transition game in world football to run at their high line. Prediction: France 2–1 Spain. La Roja will likely dominate the ball and much of the territory, but France's ruthlessness in the biggest moments makes them narrow favourites — unless Merino has one more late twist in him.
