Big stars and old rivals - what to expect in semi-finals
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- France face Spain at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday (20:00 BST), with Kylian Mbappé sitting on 8 tournament goals — one behind Lionel Messi's all-time World Cup record — after scoring in the 2-0 quarter-final win over Morocco, while team-mate Ousmane Dembélé took his tally to 5 and Michael Olise leads the tournament with 5 assists.
- Spain are on a 36-match unbeaten run (27 wins, 9 draws) since a March 2024 loss to Colombia, but star winger Lamine Yamal has scored only once — against Saudi Arabia in the group stage — and turns 19 on the eve of the semi-final, with four-goal forward Mikel Oyarzabal having blanked in the past two matches.
- England meet Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday (20:00 BST) chasing their first World Cup final in 60 years, with Lionel Messi — who has never previously faced England and became the World Cup's all-time top goalscorer this tournament — carrying 8 goals to share the Golden Boot lead with Mbappé.
- Jude Bellingham became the first player to score twice in consecutive World Cup knockout matches since Diego Maradona in 1986, while manager Thomas Tuchel matched Alf Ramsey's feat of going unbeaten through his first six England World Cup games in charge.
- France are playing in their eighth World Cup semi-final — equalling Brazil and trailing only Germany's record 12 — while Argentina have reached the last four for the third time in four editions (2014, 2022, 2026).
- Spain beat France 2-1 in the Euros 2024 semi-finals and will lean on substitute Mikel Merino, whose late goals edged out Portugal and Belgium in the knockout rounds, after Yamal and Oyarzabal failed to ignite recent matches.
Why it matters: Both semi-finals pair the tournament's joint-top scorers — Mbappé and Messi, each on 8 goals — against teams with direct recent history, including France's 2-1 Euros 2024 semi-final win over Spain and England's 60-year wait for a World Cup final. Spain's 36-match unbeaten run and France's five-goal spread of scorers point to squad depth, not individual brilliance, as the decisive factor with the title now two wins away.
