The preview of the World Cup semifinal between Spain and France has been surrounded by the last two precedents that favor the Spanish, with special prominence of Lamine Yamal against Kylian Mbappé, but the history of the encounters between La Roja and the Bleus goes much further back with more encouraging chapters for the French.
Reviewing the biography of Didier Deschamps (Bayonne, 1968) it is striking that he has not even turned 60. The French coach seems to have spent his whole life on the bench of les bleus, but when the World Cup ends in a few days and he concludes his successful 14-year tenure leading his country, he will still have much to live for. “The French national team is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he repeats with that inscrutable expression, halfway between a smile and a grimace. Surely, as the facts confirm, Deschamps is also the best thing that has ever happened to the French national team.
Sea or mountain. Cold or heat. Order or chaos. Lamine Yamal or Mbappé. Spain or France. To each their own. What is certain is that the first World Cup semifinal confirms a new rivalry, a classic of modern football, a clash between what are surely the two most powerful national teams in the world, if Messi allows it. In Dallas, both sides of the Pyrenees face off in a semifinal of a major tournament for the third consecutive time. In the previous two, Euro 2024 and the 2025 Nations League, De la Fuente and his boys were sharper and made it to the final. But the past will be of little use when the ball starts rolling on the green of the AT&T Stadium, well covered, avoiding the scorching heat that reigns in the state of Texas these days.
Just turned 19, Lamine Yamal appeared before the media ahead of the World Cup semifinal between France and Spain in Dallas, and before addressing the match, he made his position clear regarding the controversy sparked by Mariano Rajoy about the French internationals.
It has been more than twenty years since England and Argentina have played on the same field. It has been 7,914 days since they last faced each other, on November 11, 2005. It is normal that Leo Messi has never faced the English, but Ayala, Samuel, and Aimar, three members of Lionel Scaloni’s coaching staff, have.
The Colombian forward Jaminton Campaz remains in Canada, against his will, despite his team having already been eliminated from the World Cup. The 26-year-old Rosario Central striker carries the sorrow of having missed a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the round of 16 against Switzerland, a mistake that some outraged people have not forgiven him for, to the point that he has received death threats.
At seven in the morning, Hansi Flick arrived at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper to welcome the players and start the preseason of what will be his third season in charge of the men’s first team. The day began with the usual medical check-ups.
Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, gave an interview this Sunday to the Swiss television channel Blue Sport where he opened the door to a new expansion of participating teams in the World Cup. The Swiss official assured that it is “a matter that will be examined after this World Cup.” It is worth remembering that in this edition, which is held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the number of national teams was already expanded to 48, 16 more teams than in previous editions.
The Spanish team trained this Sunday without major incidents on the green of the legendary Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which has been the center of operations during the days leading up to the match against Portugal, which also took place in Texas. The agonizing victory against Belgium has left a very good taste in Spain’s ranks, reaching a World Cup semifinal for the second time in history. With France on the horizon as the last obstacle before the final in New York, there is a debate that captures all the attention and it is none other than the role Pedri will have for the match against Mbappé, Dembélé, and company.
Joan Laporta has made a strong entrance at the World Cup. The Barça president landed in Dallas this Sunday, invited by the RFEF to watch the semifinal between Spain and France, stating that he comes “to support the Spanish national team.”