THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE TIE
A World Cup 2026 semi-final preview: France against Spain, two unbeaten teams with opposite ways of playing. It was played on Bastille Day, 14 July, in Dallas, and for Deschamps it was the last dance.
THE DUEL
Kylian Mbappé arrived with eight goals and six wins from six, but Lamine Yamal had knocked him out five times out of five. Since 2012 Spain have won every knockout meeting that mattered, and France had not beaten this Spain in four years.
SPAIN
Control: keep the ball until you crack, Rodri pulling the strings, everything built to get Yamal one-on-one. One goal conceded in six matches.
FRANCE
Chaos: Mbappé, Dembélé and Olise sitting deep, then exploding into space. Spain push their full-backs high, which opens grass for Mbappé; Yamal attacks France's left, the one flaw in their machine. Whoever won that flank would win the tie.
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THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.