France against Spain, the last four, and a rematch two years in the making. The two European heavyweights meet at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the host venue for the Dallas matches, on Tuesday in the first semi-final of the 2026 World Cup. Kick-off is 3pm ET, 21:00 in central Europe, with a place in the final on 19 July the prize. The loser is left with the consolation of the third-place match on 18 July. Something has to give.
Two routes to the last four
France arrive in ominous form. They saw off Morocco 2-0 in the quarter-final on 9 July to end the run of the last African side left standing, and they did it the hard way. Kylian Mbappe had a first-half penalty saved before he settled the tie on the hour, curling a shot into the far corner for his eighth goal of the tournament. Six minutes later he turned provider, teeing up Ousmane Dembele for the second.
Spain took the scenic route. A day later they came from behind to beat Belgium 2-1, Fabian Ruiz opening the scoring before Charles De Ketelaere levelled things by the interval. The winner arrived from an unlikely source. Mikel Merino, on the pitch barely two minutes, bundled in the rebound after Cubarsi's effort squirmed away from substitute keeper Senne Lammens. Belgium had a rough afternoon of it, starting without their injured captain Youri Tielemans, who pulled up in the warm-up, and losing Thibaut Courtois to injury after the break.
Mbappe and Yamal, the sequel
The billing writes itself. Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, club rivals and two of the most watchable players on the planet, go head to head once more. They spend their club seasons on opposite sides of the same rivalry, and on Tuesday it moves to the international stage. It will be the sixth time Yamal has faced Mbappe in a knockout match, a duel that has quietly become one of the defining match-ups of the modern game.
For Spain there is a little history to settle, too. This is a rerun of the Euro 2024 semi-final, when they beat France 2-1 on their way to the title. France will remember that one well.
The numbers that matter
Mbappe leads the race for the Golden Boot on eight goals, level with Lionel Messi but ahead on the tie-break of assists, three to Messi's one. He has not been France's only story, either. Michael Olise, in his first World Cup, has been a revelation, with a tournament-high six assists in six matches. No player at this World Cup has created more. There is a weight of attacking talent here that few sides in the competition can live with.
Spain's route has been narrower. Every one of their wins has come by a single goal, the mark of a team that knows how to see a game out rather than blow it open. Until Belgium found a way through, Spain had kept six clean sheets on the bounce, the longest such run in World Cup history. That streak is gone now. Whether the defence that built it is still the same is the question France will set out to answer.
So the shape of the tie is easy to sketch and hard to call. France carry two of the tournament's most productive attackers in Mbappe and Olise. Spain carry the meanest defence, or at least they did until Belgium found a way through. One of those strengths gives on Tuesday, and the side that imposes its game first is the one likely to reach 19 July.
What happens next
France have looked the more complete side across the tournament. Spain have looked the more streetwise. On paper it is fine margins, which is roughly how these two have tended to settle things.
The winner books a place in the final on 19 July. The loser drops into the third-place play-off on 18 July, a lesser prize but the only one left. Kick-off in Arlington is Tuesday, 3pm ET, and for once the pre-match hype needs no inflating: two of the favourites, one final ticket, and Mbappe against Yamal to decide it.
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