France and Spain set for Dallas World Cup semifinal

France and Spain will meet Tuesday at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in the first semifinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Al Jazeera reported. The match puts two of Europe’s top-ranked teams one win from the final and brings another high-profile meeting between Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

Al Jazeera described the fixture as one of the tournament’s most anticipated games, pairing two pre-tournament favorites in a rivalry with a long history. Mbappe and Yamal have already faced each other several times in La Liga’s El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, according to Al Jazeera, but this meeting carries a place in the World Cup final.

Prediction and venue

Opta’s supercomputer gave France a 42.1% chance of winning in normal time as of Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. Spain were given a 31.8% chance of winning in regulation, while the probability of extra time stood at 26.1%.

The semifinal will be played at Dallas Stadium, which has a tournament capacity of 70,649, according to Al Jazeera. The match will be the venue’s ninth and final match day of this World Cup, the most assigned to any stadium in a tournament staged across 16 cities.

Head-to-head record

Spain and France have played 38 times, with Spain winning 18, France winning 13 and seven matches ending level, Al Jazeera reported. Their most recent meeting came in the 2025 UEFA Nations League semifinals, when Spain beat France 5-4 behind two goals from Yamal.

Al Jazeera listed the last five meetings as Spain’s 5-4 Nations League win in 2025, Spain’s 2-1 victory in the Euro 2024 semifinals, France’s 2-1 win in the 2021 Nations League final, Spain’s 2-0 friendly win in 2017 and France’s 1-0 friendly win in 2014.

The teams have met once at a World Cup, according to Al Jazeera. France beat Spain 3-1 in the round of 16 in 2006, with goals from Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane.

At the European Championship, Al Jazeera reported, France and Spain have faced each other five times. Each team has won twice, with one draw; Spain won their latest Euro meeting 2-1 in the 2024 semifinals through goals from Yamal and Dani Olmo.

Players to watch

Mbappe leads France’s attack and the Golden Boot race with eight goals and three assists at the tournament, Al Jazeera reported. Ousmane Dembele has scored five goals, while Michael Olise has five assists.

For Spain, Al Jazeera identified Mikel Oyarzabal as the team’s leading scorer with four goals. Marc Cucurella has two assists, and Yamal has one goal so far after entering the World Cup following an injury, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reported that France’s attack, featuring Bradley Barcola, Dembele, Olise and Mbappe, has been the team’s main strength. France conceded against Senegal and Norway in the group stage but have kept clean sheets in all three knockout matches.

Spain’s defence has been its main strength, Al Jazeera reported, with only one goal conceded in five matches, against Belgium in the quarterfinals. Al Jazeera also reported that Spain needed late goals from substitute Merino to win both of their last two knockout games.

If the match is tied after normal time, Al Jazeera reported, it will go to two 15-minute periods of extra time. If the score is still level, the semifinal will be decided by a penalty shootout.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.