A Clash of Titans in Dallas: France vs. Spain (10:00 p.m.) who will face off in the first semifinal of this year’s World Cup, and by the end of the night, only one team will have secured a spot in Sunday’s grand final (July 19, 10:00 p.m.).

Two teams that rightfully belong in the “Final Four,” having lived up to the predictions that they would go all the way. In different ways, with different playing styles, but united by their tremendous quality across all positions and their desire to win the trophy.

In recent years, this has been said quite often, with “Furia Roja” being the one to cherish fond memories—from the 2-1 victory in the Euro 2024 semifinal and the one with the impressive 5-4 score last summer in the Nations League semifinal. At the World Cup level, their only head-to-head matchup came in the 2006 tournament, when France defeated Spain 3-1 in the Round of 16 and advanced to the quarterfinals.

In the camp of the nominal home team, France currently appears to be the team with the best chance of winning the trophy, though there isn’t a huge gap between them and tonight’s opponent. They’ve played the most convincing soccer and have Kylian Mbappé in incredible form, with the “Tricolore” superstar tied for the top spot on the scoring leaderboard with Lionel Messi, both with eight goals.

Didier Deschamps’ team easily eliminated Morocco 2-0 in the quarterfinals thanks to goals from Mbappé and Dembélé, in a match where they were never really threatened and found the answers offensively within a six-minute span thanks to the national team’s two stars. Chuameni is back in Deschamps’ squad, though it’s unlikely he’ll break up the Rabiot-Koné duo in the center of the midfield.

“We know Spain well. They are the reigning European champions. We also faced them in the Nations League semifinals last summer… we were considered the favorites before the World Cup, but Spain is the real favorite,” Deschamps said, among other things, in his remarks.

On the other side, Spain is two steps away from a second… Euro-World Cup double in consecutive tournaments, as it did in 2008 and 2010, since it is currently the European champion and is aiming for another major success with Luis de la Fuente at the helm.

The “Furia Roja” advanced to the semifinals in a manner reminiscent of their match against Portugal, as they knocked Belgium out of the tournament with a last-minute goal by the incredible Merino, who once again came off the bench to seal their advancement to the next round.

“Reaching the semifinals of a World Cup is extremely difficult and tough. All of our opponents are very strong, and as a team, we are very strong. The path to the final is wide open.

France is one of the title contenders, and both they and we have improved compared to our previous matches against each other. “Tuesday’s match will be nothing like the past,” said De La Fuente, among other things, in his remarks; he only has to deal with the absence of winger Pino.

Possible starting lineups:

France (Didier Deschamps): Menian – Din, Upamecano, Saliba, Koundé – Rabiot, Koné – Olise, Dembélé, Doué – Mbappé.

Spain (Luis de la Fuente): Simón – Porro, Kubarshi, Laporte, Cucurella – Rodri, Pedri, Fabián Ruiz – Yamal, Olmo, Baena.

Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

*photo source: AP