For the first time, FIFA’s top four teams have all made the World Cup semifinals, and not since 1990 has the final four been made up entirely of previous winners.Five of the tournament’s top six scorers will be in action.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.It makes for two mouth-watering matchups over the next two days full of heated rivalries and intriguing subplots.
The action kicks off this afternoon in Dallas with two European powerhouses, France vs.Spain.
Tomorrow, England takes on Argentina in Atlanta.Our NBC News team will be live-blogging both games.Don’t miss out!World Cup PreviewLes Bleus vs La Roja.
Free-flowing tournament favorites versus the tournament’s meanest defense.Attacking individual flair versus an obsession with possession.
Expect France vs.Spain to be a cagey but compelling clash of styles.Spain was crowned World Cup champions for the only time in its history in 2010 but must first get past France, the 2018 winners and 2022 runners-up.
The game just happens to fall on Bastille Day, as France is aiming to reach its third straight World Cup final.Will the fireworks be heard louder in Paris or Madrid tonight?Spain coach Luis de la Fuente will be desperately hoping star winger Lamine Yamal, who turned 19 yesterday, can find the sort of electric form that helped fire La Roja to the European title two years ago.
Then, Yamal scored in the semifinal against France in a 2-1 win in Munich.“It’s undoubtedly the most important match I’m ever going to play,” Yamal said.In an exhilarating tournament in which nearly all the big stars have performed, including France’s Kylian Mbappé, who leads the Golden Boot standings with eight goals, Yamal has been unspectacular so far, registering one goal and no assists.
That said, he only scored once in the run that led to Spain becoming European champions.Yamal came into the World Cup nursing a hamstring injury.
Spain instead has ...