France and Spain clash in World Cup semifinal
Hosts discuss the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup semifinal clash between France and Spain, set to take place today in Dallas. Sports and entertainment reporter Mike Gunzelman analyzes the intense matchup, noting Spain’s strong defense against Kylian Mbappé. He also reflects on the tournament’s massive success and growing soccer fandom in the US.
It has been a couple of days without soccer, and it felt a bit strange. I wonder how I will feel after this World Cup is complete in a few days. We are down to just four games remaining (including today’s matchup). It has been a really engaging and entertaining World Cup so far, and I think FIFA has to be very happy it got the remaining four teams in the Final Four. Let’s see how we should play the first semifinals game of the 2026 World Cup.
There have been at least two players who have said that France is the team to beat or that will win the whole thing. As someone with a French ticket, I am hoping that comes to fruition. Getting to the final game will be quite a challenge. I don’t know a ton about soccer, but I can tell you that after watching these games, it seems like one small mistake can change the entire game. France has been fortunate not to have made many mistakes so far. They have a strong defense, three great offensive players, and much more, so perhaps their team is just good at covering any mistakes that are made.
Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium on July 9, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)
In their World Cup games, France has barely had to sweat. Their worst game was against Paraguay when they still won 1-0. In their most recent game, they took down Morocco 2-0. Throughout this tournament, they have not allowed more than one goal in any game, and they have outscored their opponents 16-2. Their leader, Kylian Mbappe, and his counterpart, Ousmane Dembele, have combined to score 13 of those goals. The third person of their trio, Michael Olise, has five assists as well.
HOW TO WATCH FRANCE VS SPAIN: LIVE STREAM THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP SEMIFINALS
This will be a tough game for Spain to win, but that doesn’t mean that there is no pressure on France. Spain is one of the best teams in the world and they beat France last year in the UEFA Nations League semifinals. That game saw Spain win 5-4. Spain opened their World Cup with a draw over Cape Verde. At the time, it seemed like that was Spain underperforming, but that Cape Verde team proved to be very talented and a tough matchup. To get out of the Group Stage, they beat Saudi Arabia with ease, then Uruguay in a close matchup.
France’s Kylian Mbappé and Spain’s Lamine Yamal will square off in the World Cup semifinals in Dallas to determine which country will have a shot at hoisting the World Cup trophy on July 19. (GETTY)
Once they got to the knockout round, things were a bit more difficult. They beat Austria 3-0, but struggled to beat Portugal, winning 1-0. Then, against Belgium, that game was a tightly contested 2-1 victory. They never trailed in that game, but both teams scored in the first half. A very late Spanish goal gave them the lead that would never be relinquished. It was more of an error on Belgium’s part than anything that led to this goal for Spain. Mistakes cost people games in all sports.
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A lot of people are billing this as the Championship matchup. I guess they don’t feel all that strongly about Argentina or England. Perhaps it is true, but if you see two teams beating each other before they face a different opponent, that can hurt them for the next game. The advantage either team has is that they will have extra rest before the final.
France’s forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the 2026 World Cup football tournament quarter-final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on July 9, 2026. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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I think Spain has been a bit luckier than France, but they also have nothing to lose. An interesting fact is that Spain comes into this unbeaten in regulation time in their past 36 international competitions. It seems like they are due to lose, right? As mentioned, I have a ticket on France to win the World Cup already, if I didn’t, I would still take them here. I will take the over 2.5 goals here, though. I think the final will be France 2-1 and I think they win in 90 minutes.
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For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024