The 2026 World Cup is now down to the final four, and the first semi-final sees France go head-to-head with Spain.
Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele gave France a 2-0 win over Morocco in the quarters, while Spain needed a late goal from Mikel Merino to beat Belgium 2-1.
The winner will face either Argentina or England in the final, and the loser will compete in the third-place play-off.
France v Spain kick-off time
France v Spain kicks off at 8pm BST (2pm local) on Tuesday, July 14 at the Dallas Stadium.
France v Spain how to watch
The game will be shown live in the UK on ITV1, with coverage starting at 7pm.
BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT will both provide full match commentary.
France team news
France suffered a huge injury scare when Mbappe sat on the pitch and asked to be substituted in the 77th minute against Morocco.
He had taken a heavy knock to his right ankle following a challenge from Morocco centre-back Issa Diop and was later seen sitting on the France bench with ice strapped to his foot.
But any concerns about the injury were eased when the forward began jumping up and down in front of the France supporters during the post-match celebrations.
Manu Kone also came off against Morocco, with Didier Deschamps later revealing that the midfielder took a blow to the knee and had cramp.
Kone should be available against Spain, but may still drop to the bench as Aurelien Tchouameni is fit to return after missing their last two games with a minor thigh injury.
William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano both missed a recent training session, with the former continuing to manage a back issue and the latter dealing with foot pain.
The two centre-backs are still expected to start against Spain, while Lucas Digne and Jules Kounde will continue in the full-back positions.
Spain team news
Pedri was a surprise omission from the starting XI for the quarter-final against Belgium, with Fabian Ruiz getting the nod to play alongside Rodri and Dani Olmo.
Ruiz netted the opening goal but was replaced by Pedri just 10 minutes into the second half, and the Barcelona midfielder could be recalled.
Merino will also be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score the winning goal against both Portugal and Belgium, but he may have to settle for the super-sub role once again.
Nico Williams missed the wins over Austria and Portugal with a groin injury, but was deemed fit enough to feature as a late substitute against Belgium.
The Athletic Bilbao winger could now make his first start at the World Cup, and that would see Alex Baena drop to the bench.
Yeremy Pino hasn’t featured since sustaining a collarbone injury in the final group game against Uruguay, but he could return against France.
New Liverpool signing Victor Munoz is available after recovering from a muscle injury, and is looking to make his first appearance at the World Cup.
France v Spain odds
France are at 29/20 to win in 90 minutes and book their place in the final. Spain are 12/5, while The Draw is 23/10.
In the ‘To Qualify’ market which also brings extra-time and penalties into play, France are 7/10 to go through while Spain are 7/5 to advance.
At the start of this World Cup, France and Spain were 9/2 joint-favourites to lift the trophy. But Les Blues are now as short as 6/4, while Spain are 7/2.
France v Spain prediction
This game is a repeat of the Euro 2024 semi-final, when Spain recovered from Randal Kolo Muani’s early header to win 2-1 with goals from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo.
They also met in the 2025 UEFA Nations League semi-final, and Spain booked their place in the final once again following an incredible nine-goal thriller.
But France have lost just one game since that defeat and boast a perfect record of six wins from six matches at this World Cup, scoring 16 goals and conceding just two in the process.
Spain’s progress to the semi-final has been supported by a strong defensive foundation; Charles De Ketelaere’s equaliser for Belgium in the last round is the only goal they’ve conceded at the tournament.
But the forwards haven’t been at their brilliant best, with Yamal registering just one goal contribution and Nico Williams struggling with injury issues.
The same can’t be said for France, as Mbappe has eight goals and three assists, Dembele has five goals and two assists and Michael Olise has five assists.
Spain may have a strong defence but even they’ll struggle to keep those forwards quiet, so we’re backing France to win and both teams to score at 7/2.
The only World Cup meeting between the two nations came in the 2006 round of 16, when France won 3-1 through goals from Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane.
A repeat of that scoreline can be backed at 20/1.
Despite missing a first-half penalty against Morocco, Mbappe bounced back and broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike in the second half.
He has now netted the opening goal in five of France’s six games at the 2026 World Cup and is 21/5 to be the first goalscorer once again.
