Key events
Tonight’s referee will surely be hoping to get in and out of Dodge without drawing any attention to himself. It’s not exactly been a banner tournament for officialdom, is all. So let’s give 35-year-old Salvadorian referee Iván Barton his flowers while we still can. This will be his fourth match at this World Cup; his main moment of note is the dismissal of Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron for covering his mouth during a brouhaha against Turkey. It’s his only red card so far, albeit one which had grave consequences for one poor hot-headed soul in the TV gantry. Barton also refereed Japan-Sweden and Switzerland-Colombia.
Pre-match postbag. “When a team that has Yamal and Rodri is considered an underdog in a contest, it speaks volumes about the other team. Honestly no other team has delighted me as much as this French team (and I have been following football from 1982)” – krishnamoorthy v
“Both France and Spain have had near total control of every game they’ve played in the world cup so far. England and Argentina on the other hand could say they’ve been taken to hell and back by the teams they’ve played in the knockout rounds. If I am to guess, today’s game may well see one of the teams winning by an odd goal and then going on to win the final. It is difficult to envision either of Argentina or England beating Spain or France based on current form” – Farhan
“I think we can be confident that we’re watching the eventual tournament winners tonight, not just for the relative quality of these teams compared with England and Argentina, but because the winners of men’s and women’s World Cups and Euros always come from the first semi-final. (I can’t find the statistic but I think it goes back over quite a large number of tournaments.) That must have something to do with the extra day of recovery. So perhaps instead of messing with the number of countries that qualify, Fifa would be better off messing with the schedules of the rounds” – David Wall
“This should be one heck of a game. My only note is that Lucas Digne will always be appreciated by Evertonians after he was unjustly ridden out of town on a rail by Rafa Benitez, and it’s remarkable that he’s starting a World Cup semifinal at the age of 32 after not being selected at all by Didier Deschamps for the 2022 edition. The man can still put a pinpoint cross into the box whenever he wants” – Matt Burtz
“Those who say that there isn’t much between these two sides should apologize to the people of Andorra and try going on a long hike over the Pyrenees” – Peter Oh
So yes, that Euro 2024 semi-final. France are using it as fuel …
… while Spain are drawing strength from it.
France and Spain have only met once before at the World Cup. That was 20 years ago, back in the day when Les Bleus very much had La Roja’s number (the Euro 84 final, the Euro 2000 quarters, all that).
Spain have had the better of the tournament football since. Wins in the Euro 2012 quarters and the Euro 2024 semis, plus an absurd 5-4 victory in last year’s Nations League semis. France did win the 2021 Nations League final, though.
Spain are unchanged following their victory over Belgium. Mikel Merino, match-winning supersub in both of the previous two rounds, once again has to make do with a seat on the bench, while Fabian Ruiz gets the nod ahead of Pedri in midfield.
France make two changes to the team that started the win over Morocco. Aurélien Tchouaméni returns from injury to replace Manu Koné in midfield, while Bradley Barcola comes in for Désiré Doué on the left flank.
The teams
France: Maignan, Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Olise, Barcola, Mbappe.
Subs: Samba, Risser, Gusto, Kone, Thuram, Kante, Konate, Zaire Emery, Theo Hernandez, Doue, Lucas Hernandez, Mateta, Cherki, Akliouche, Lacroix.
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal.
Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Gonzalez, Munoz, Iglesias.
Referee: Ivan Barton Cisneros (El Salvador).
This will be France’s eighth semi-final. Their hit rate is pretty good: three losses (against Brazil in 1958 and West Germany in 1982 and 1986) followed by four wins (against Croatia in 1998, Portugal in 2006, Belgium in 2018 and Morocco in 2022).
By contrast, it’s just Spain’s second appearance at this stage, though they can boast a 100-percent record, having seen off Germany in 2010. They also participated in the 1950 final pool, which could have been a damp squib but … wasn’t.
Just the four penalty shoot-outs so far. What price another tonight? And if so … then what?!
Spain really started slowly. That opening goalless draw with Cape Verde, which admittedly doesn’t look so bad in retrospect. They belatedly got going with an easy victory over Saudi Arabia, before knocking out Uruguay. Despite that initial stutter, Spain topped Group H after all.
Onto the knockouts, during which Spain have done enough without ever clicking into top gear … yet … though those no-fuss Mikel Oyarzabal finishes against Austria were delicious.
France made it through Group I without any fuss. They started slowly but eventually surged past Senegal. A two-hour storm break during their meeting with Iraq was like water off a duck’s back. Then they achieved grade A against Norway B.
Onto the knockouts, during which they’ve made their class tell, one way or another. And here we are.
In the beginning … here’s how it all looked at the outset of this epic odyssey. Not so much has changed, bar ever-increasing hope and expectation.
Preamble
France and Spain are about to compete the semi-final of a World Cup in which they’ve been by some margin the best two teams. It’s a showdown that can’t be oversold. So let’s not try. Kick-off in Dallas is 8pm BST/3pm EST/5am AEST. It’s on!
