France: W Senegal, W Iraq, W Norway, W Sweden, W Paraguay, W Morocco
Spain: D Cape Verde, W Saudi Arabia, W Uruguay, W Austria, W Portugal, W Belgium
Spain has presented, arguably, the finest defense of any team in this year’s World Cup tournament, conceding one goal in its five matches, to Belgium in the quarterfinals.
That makes them an intriguing match-up for a French unit, led by megastar Kylian Mbappé, who has scored eight of Les Blues’ 13 goals in this year’s competition.
This is not the first high-profile meeting between these two teams, as Spain defeated France, 2-1, in the 2024 Euros. La Roja also holds a 5-4 victory over France in the UEFA finals in 2025. Spain has won seven of the last 10 games in the series more than enough to argue that they hold the edge in the rivalry heading into Tuesday’s game.
France has been here, though, with this being their third consecutive trip to the semifinals. They have advanced to the finals each time and won the entire tournament, behind Mbappé, in 2018.
Lamine Yamal has been fantastic for Spain, breaking Lionel Messi’s record as the youngest World Cup goal scorer, and the defense has been outstanding. Whether it can slow the momentum of the leader for Golden Boot honors, Mbappé, and blank France in the same manner it has all but one other opponent, will ultimately determine whether Yamal has the opportunity to play Messi in the finals.
