Only the World Cup‘s heavyweights remain. The semifinals begin Tuesday with the matchup many expected, but few can confidently predict.
France and Spain meet first, with one of the tournament’s most complete teams against its most clinical.
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Spain has controlled matches, moved the ball with patience and repeatedly found answers late. France has taken a more direct road, leaning on its physical edge, defensive discipline and the brilliance of Kylian Mbappé.
Both have looked like finalists since before the draw in December. Our latest Power Rankings place them at the front of the field, and the bracket has now delivered the matchup many expected. But getting here and getting through are very different things.
Spain will look to dictate the game. France will wait for the moment to break it open. Somewhere between possession and transition, patience and speed, the first place in Sunday’s World Cup final will be decided.
How to watch France vs. Spain
Kickoff time: 3 p.m. ET
Date: Tuesday, July 14
Venue: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
TV: Fox, Telemundo (Spanish)
Streaming: Fox One, Peacock (Spanish)
Follow along below for all the latest news, lineups, highlights, analysis and live updates from France vs. Spain:
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Nick Bromberg
Mbappé gets a yellow as he clatters into Simon while Simon was waiting to pick up the ball and killing off some time.
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Nick Bromberg
France isn’t getting much closer to halving the deficit.
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Nick Bromberg
Well, there’s Simon’s first save!
He leaves his penalty box to clear the ball away with his head and keep it away from a sprinting Mbappé. The ball gets to Doué, but by the time he shoots, Simon has scrambled back into the penalty box and gets in front of the shot before falling on the ball.
What a wild sequence. The video does it better justice than my description.
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Nick Bromberg
Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon has not been officially credited with a save yet.
Not a great stat if you’re France and trying to chase down a two-goal deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
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Nick Bromberg
Yamal gets called for a foul on a sliding tackle on Mbappé, but it’s somehow not a yellow card. The ensuing free kick essentially gets wiped away for a foul by France.
Spain makes two more changes. Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz come off for Pedri and Mikel Merino.
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Nick Bromberg
Spain’s first change is Ferran Torres for Mikel Oyarzabal.
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Nick Bromberg
Rayan Cherki and Theo Hernandez are on for France at the hydration break for Michael Olise and Lucas Digne.
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Nick Bromberg
We’re heading into the final 20 minutes at AT&T Stadium.
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Nick Bromberg
Case in point: Mike Maignan just had to come a long, long way out of his goal to head out a long pass intended for Yamal because no France defenders were back.
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Nick Bromberg
France is now trying its best to put sustained pressure on Spain — but it’s vulnerable to the counter. Lamine Yamal has already had a goal called back for offside that would have made it 3-0.
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Ben Fawkes
Spain is up 2-0 and dominating France.
Sportsbooks and prediction markets both have Spain with more than a 90% chance of advancing to the World Cup Final now.
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Nick Bromberg
Miserable defending by France as no one followed Porro on his run into the box.
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Nick Bromberg
A lovely combination at the top of the penalty box sends Porro in on goal and France is now really on the ropes.
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Nick Bromberg
Bradley Barcola comes off for France and is replaced by Désiré Doué.
That’s France’s third substitution thanks to Saliba’s first-half injury. France also has just one more remaining substitution window.
Spain has not made any changes yet.
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Nick Bromberg
Spain continues to control possession and France has just been a bit disjointed in the Spain half when it has been able to get the ball.
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Nick Bromberg
Lamine Yamal gets behind France’s defense in the 51st minute, but he runs out of space on the angle he took and was a step offside to start his run.
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Nick Bromberg
Manu Kone replaces Adrien Rabiot to start the second half for France. Rabiot got an early yellow card in the first half.
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Ben Fawkes
Spain is up 1-0 at halftime and the clear favorite to advance to the World Cup Final with -220 odds (implied probability of 69%), while France is at +170.
How will France respond in the second half?
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Nick Bromberg
France hasn’t been clinical with the opportunities it has created so far this half. Digne’s foul on Yamal in the box is the difference so far. Yamal has been excellent, especially in the first 25 minutes.
France is trailing for the first time all World Cup.
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Nick Bromberg
Unai Simon has to come flying out of his penalty area to blunt a potential Mbappé breakaway and it leads to a corner from France.
