{"id":4132,"date":"2026-07-14T11:35:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4132"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:35:53","slug":"both-france-and-spain-have-been-dominant-in-this-tournament-but-only-one-can-reach-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4132","title":{"rendered":"Both France and Spain have been dominant in this tournament, but only one can reach final"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014\u00a0Kylian Mbappe and France haven\u2019t trailed at all in this year\u2019s World Cup. Neither has Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and clutch goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.<\/p>\n

Read more LOVERRO: The Orioles\u2019 Way, the Angelos\u2019 Way and the misery in the middle<\/a><\/p>\n

Only one of those teams can make it to the final.<\/p>\n

France and Spain, both at their 17th World Cup, have met only once previously on soccer\u2019s biggest stage. They play on Tuesday at the home of the NFL\u2019s Dallas Cowboys in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches.<\/p>\n

After entering this tournament as FIFA\u2019s top-ranked team, France has outscored its opponents 14-2. Mbappe, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals to match Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this time, and is one behind the Argentina captain\u2019s career record of 21 at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are confident, of course, with the course we have done so far, and we have to be,\u201d France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. \u201cBut always with this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old Mbappe has 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches, including one in the 2018 win over Croatia when he joined Pele as the only teenager to score in a World Cup final. Coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappe is fine physically after exiting in the 77th minute of Les Bleus\u2019 quarterfinal win over Morocco after scoring a goal.<\/p>\n

Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already been part of two semifinal wins with Spain over France. He was just days shy of his 17th birthday when he scored in a 2-1 win during the 2024 European Championship semifinals, and Spain won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe if France has to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion,\u201d Yamal said after Spain\u2019s quarterfinal victory over Belgium. \u201cWe were the ones that knocked them out before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teen has only one goal while putting 10 shots on target after coming into this World Cup still nursing a left hamstring issue. He missed the final weeks of the season for Spanish club Barcelona.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the most important match I\u2019m going to play,\u201d Yamal said Monday, adding his best birthday gift would be a victory and trip to the final. \u201cWe are all so excited, especially me.\u201d<\/p>\n

France defender Jules Kound\u00e9 also plays for Barcelona, so he knows Yamal well and didn\u2019t feel disrespected by the earlier comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always does it with (Barcelona). He trusts a lot in his virtues, in the virtues of the team where he plays,\u201d Kound\u00e9 said in translated remarks. \u201cAn extra motivation for him and that\u2019s it, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spain has outscored opponents 10-1 since a scoreless draw against surprising Cape Verde to open group play, but La Roja got late decisive goals from Merino as a late substitute in the past two games. And goaltender Unai Sim\u00f3n set a World Cup record of 650 minutes without allowing a goal until Belgium scored in the 41st minute of their quarterfinal game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that from the first game until today, the team needed to catch the rhythm, we had been without seeing each other for a long time,\u201d Spain midfielder Alex Baena said, adding that with more games and practices \u201cthe better the team has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Walker spoils Philadelphia\u2019s Schwarber party, rallies to win Home Run Derby<\/a><\/p>\n

Merino scored in the 88th minute for that 2-1 win over Belgium on Friday. That came after the Arsenal forward\u2019s goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for the 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16 at the same stadium where Spain\u2019s semifinal match will be played.<\/p>\n

Quartet of past champions<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the first World Cup since 1990 that each of the final four teams are former champions.<\/p>\n

Messi and defending champion Argentina, which beat France for the title in 2022, play England in the other semifinal match Wednesday in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

The championship match is Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across the river from New York City. A third-place game will be played Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.<\/p>\n

Both have raised World Cup trophy since they last met in the tourney<\/p>\n

In their only previous World Cup meeting, France beat Spain 3-1 in a round of 16 game at the 2006 tournament in Germany.<\/p>\n

Both teams have won the World Cup since then. Spain claimed its only title in 2010, and France won its second World Cup in 2018.<\/p>\n

France, which will be playing on its country\u2019s Bastille Day national holiday, is trying to join five-time champion Brazil and four-time winner Germany as the only teams to make three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil did it in 1994, 1998 and 2002 \u2014 winning two titles and losing to host France in the middle of that run. Germany\u2019s championship in 1990 came after being runner-up in the previous two World Cups \u2014 all playing as West Germany at the time.<\/p>\n

Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout in 2022 after playing to a 3-3 draw.<\/p>\n

This is France\u2019s seventh semifinal appearance, its fifth in the last eight World Cups. Spain\u2019s only other semifinals were in 1950 and then 2010 on the way to the title.<\/p>\n

Wrapping up in Dallas<\/strong><\/p>\n

AT&T Stadium in North Texas will be hosting its tournament-high ninth game, and in that one-month run there have been some soccer superstar moments in the building that has hosted a Super Bowl and NCAA championship games for football and men\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n

Messi scored three goals in Argentina\u2019s two group games, the first on June 22 when after missing a penalty kick he broke the World Cup career scoring mark with the first of his two goals in a 2-0 win over Austria. He added another goal as a late substitute in the group finale June 27 against Jordan.<\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old superstar from Portugal, finished his sixth and final World Cup in the 1-0 round of 16 loss to Spain on July 6.<\/p>\n

Read more Ukraine, 9 EU allies announce coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kylian Mbappe and France haven’t trailed at all at this year’s World Cup. 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