Spain winger Lamine Yamal draws a foul in the box, leading to a successful penalty kick, in the first half of Tuesday's game against France.Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has told Lamine Yamal to pack away the birthday candles and any nerves, saying the teenager’s grandest World Cup moment may come against France in Tuesday’s semi-final or on an even bigger stage.
Lamine turned 19 on the eve of the meeting in Dallas and de la Fuente, who has long preached joy over jitters, said the forward should embrace rather than carry the occasion.
“I’ve told him there is no need to worry – let him enjoy himself. I’m sure Lamine’s great World Cup day is still to come. I hope it’s [Tuesday] and, if not, then in the final, if we can get there,” de la Fuente told reporters.
Lamine has gradually been finding form after entering the World Cup nursing a hamstring injury he suffered after converting a penalty for Barcelona in late April. He had scored one goal and failed to set up any at the tournament entering the France matchup.
Spain beat France 5-4 in last year’s Nations League semi-finals, but de la Fuente said the rematch would be another beast, particularly after the Spaniards almost let a 5-1 lead evaporate in the final 15 minutes.
“We learn a lot from those matches, as they will have done,” he said. “We will try to repeat the scenarios where situations were favourable to us and not the others.”
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The Spain manager framed the contest as a clash of “antagonistic styles” and said his side must be wary of France’s “very dangerous” transitions.
Asked how Spain can stop forwards Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, de la Fuente said there had been no shortage of homework.
“We’ve analyzed them very, very thoroughly. They have players of exceptional calibre, but so do we. The key is to impose our own characteristics and style, and to neutralize the opposition. That’s football. The more balanced side is usually closer to winning, although that’s no guarantee,” he said.
De la Fuente said France were better than the side Spain beat in 2025, with both teams sharpened by time, and insisted he would not be drawn into France coach Didier Deschamps’ suggestion that Spain are favourites, dismissing the label as little more than pre-match confetti.
“Being told you are favourites or not means nothing,” de la Fuente said. “We are both great teams, like in the other semi-final [England vs. Argentina]. I don’t understand why people say such things because whether we’re the favourites or not is completely irrelevant.”
France will not willingly surrender possession to Spain in Tuesday’s clash, Deschamps said, with Aurelien Tchouameni available again as the teams prepared for a potentially decisive battle in midfield.
France coach Didier Deschamps flashes a thumbs up before Tuesday's match.Hannah McKay/Reuters
Spain have built their run to the last four around their ability to dominate the ball, press opponents deep into their own half and control the rhythm of matches.
Spain’s possession game is designed not only to create openings but also to exhaust opponents by shifting the ball repeatedly from one side to the other.
France possess the pace to hurt them on the break, but Deschamps rejected the idea that his side would be content merely to defend and wait for transitions.
“Spain can apply a lot of pressure, but we are also a team who need the ball,” Deschamps told reporters on Monday. “There will be a battle for control.”
Midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery said France’s range of qualities gave them several ways to approach the contest.
“Spain have great quality on the ball,” he said. “We have the qualities to attack quickly on the counter, to keep possession ourselves and to defend well.
“The course of the game will dictate things. I cannot say now exactly how the match will unfold.”
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Fullback Jules Kounde said on Monday that France would need possession of their own to disrupt that pattern rather than allow Spain to settle into prolonged spells of control.
Deschamps believes France’s experience of recent major tournaments will help them manage those different phases, although he insisted past meetings with Spain offered no guarantee of how Tuesday’s match would develop.
Spain eliminated France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals before beating them a year later in that stage of the Nations League.
“There are no particular lessons,” Deschamps said. “There was one truth in those matches, with the players who were present on both sides at that time.
“The players are different now and they are not necessarily at the same level of form.
“Spain won those two matches, so congratulations to them, but what interests me is [Tuesday’s] game.”