(CNN) — Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on all things World Cup. To subscribe, click here.
Here we go then, the first semifinal of this year’s World Cup is upon us and it’s a true clash of heavyweights – world No. 1 France up against world No. 3 Spain.
It’s a tie that many had predicted before a ball was even kicked in North America and one that is finely balanced.
France is just about the favorite today given its superior form this summer, but Spain has beaten Les Bleus on the last two occasions at knockout tournaments so will feel confident heading into the tie.
We’ll have everything you need to know about this World Cup semifinal, starting with Spain’s not-so-secret weapon.
The Main Thing: Can Lamine Yamal finally turn up when it really matters?
I appreciate it’s crazy to put so much pressure on the shoulders of a player who only turned 19 yesterday. But Lamine Yamal’s rise through the ranks has been so spectacular that it almost belies his age.
He’s already a three-time La Liga winner for Barcelona, a European champion with Spain and now stands just two wins away from adding the World Cup to his trophy cabinet this summer.
So far, though, the winger has struggled to make a big impact this summer, perhaps still feeling the effects of the hamstring injury that saw him miss the final weeks of the domestic season.
He was teased back into the starting lineup during the early stages of the tournament so now, in theory, he should be fully fit.
“It’s the most important match of my career so far,” he said yesterday. “We’re all very excited, I would put it in the top spot.”
France will be very wary of Yamal. The teenager is simply unstoppable when he gets in the flow and has threatened to explode into action on more than one occasion during this competition.
He may have scored just one goal so far, but no player in the tournament has received the ball more behind the defensive line. That shows just how much intent there is in Yamal’s game. He’s desperate to cause havoc; he’s just been missing that final touch that is often so lethal.
His threat is so big that teams have tasked at least two players to mark Yamal during matches. Against Belgium in the quarterfinal, the youngster often had three people on him whenever he received the ball. It means he hasn’t been able to fully show what he can do.
Against France, though, he’s likely to have a little more space with his opposition more worried about attacking rather than its defending responsibilities. It’s this reason that Yamal often turns up against the bigger teams, as he’s done several times in the Champions League over the years.
It’s perhaps lazy to boil this game down to a battle between Yamal and France’s Kylian Mbappé – although some will certainly do so. Yes, both are their nation’s heroes, but there are so many other world-class players on display that the win could easily be decided by someone else other than these two forwards (Spanish editor’s note: Mikel Merino, I’m looking at you).
For Yamal, it’s all about seeing the game in its context and maintaining a perspective that allows him to enjoy the experience.
“There are situations in life way more difficult than a football match,” Yamal said when asked if he’s worried about the pressure of a semifinal.
“I always think that I have to be calm because that’s all it is, a game. When it’s over, life goes on.”
Click here to read more about how Yamal became the teenage prodigy he is today.
Inside look at La Roja
As I said, it’s not just Lamine Yamal who can win a game for Spain. In truth, it’s gotten this far without its star man influencing matches like normal.
Instead, La Roja’s found a way to grind teams down. No nation in the World Cup has enjoyed more possession than Spain (60%). Similarly, no player in the tournament has made more passes than Spanish midfielder Rodri, with the 30-year-old setting the tone for his team’s play.
But that level of control only shows half of the picture. On the other hand, no team in the World Cup has had more shots off target than La Roja – a statistic that speaks to its biggest problem of being clinical in front of goal.
Mikel Oyarzabal is Spain’s starting striker and, despite not being considered a true superstar, he’s done a great job in leading the line for the country in recent years.
Oyarzabal’s form in recent knockout matches, though, hasn’t been great and Spain has twice been bailed out by late goals from make-shift forward Mikel Merino.
Against France, you expect chances in front of goal to be limited. It means Spain will have to rediscover a clinical edge that’s been missing so far.
“Tomorrow’s match will demand everything of us and it could well be a final, the same as England vs. Argentina,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said.
“The best four teams in the world are in the semifinals, according to the FIFA rankings. We have to get better, of course, because if you settle, normally, things don’t go well for you.”
Inside look at Les Bleus
As for France, it will be looking for more of the same as the country celebrates Bastille Day (a national holiday) today.
Les Bleus have been so impressive in this tournament at both ends of the pitch and it’s hard to really see a fault.
Obviously, so much has been made of the attacking lineup, with Kylian Mbappé leading the way with eight goals already. The 27-year-old now has a total of 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches and sits just one behind Lionel Messi’s all-time record.
But he’s backed up by a ridiculous roster of talent, notably Michael Olise who has been a joy to behold this summer. The 24-year-old has the most assists out of anyone in the tournament (five) and has this uncanny ability to drift past players and pick out a killer pass.
Defensively, France has also only conceded twice so far – a record bettered only by Spain which has let in one goal.
Tactically, then, it’s anyone’s guess how things will pan out. Will France let Spain keep the ball and look to counter? Or will it continue dominating matches from the start and smothering its opponent?
Luckily for us, we can just sit back and watch (Spanish editor’s note: Not me, Ben. Not me…).
“Spain have great quality on the ball,” France midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery said. “We have the qualities to attack quickly on the counter, to keep possession ourselves and to defend well.
“The course of the game will dictate things. I cannot say now exactly how the match will unfold.”
Quote of the Day
It feels like this France team is playing for more than just national pride today.
It’s quite clear how tight the squad is this summer, with genuine friendships off the pitch helping to fuel the brilliant performances on it.
It seems that stretches to manager Didier Deschamps as well, who announced previously that this would be his last tournament in charge of the national team.
Deschamps also suffered the loss of his mother earlier in the competition, and midfielder Adrien Rabiot says that’s proved to be an extra motivation.
“You want to give everything, especially knowing that this is his last competition in charge of the France team. This is the moment,” he said.
WATCH: Erling Haaland arrives back in Norway… with a stuffed raccoon
The perfect end to an amazing World Cup for Norway striker Erling Haaland.
As if to sum up why the world has fallen in love with the soccer superstar, he stepped out of the team plane with a taxidermy raccoon stuffed under his arm.
What a performance.
Conspiracy theory hunting in Dallas
Don Riddell is our man on the ground in Dallas for the first semifinal. He’s been busy having a walk around the city and chatting to fans about the tournament so far.
If you take a short walk from Spain’s hotel in downtown Dallas, you’ll stumble across one of the most infamous landmarks in modern history: Dealey Plaza, scene of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. The former Texas Book Depository, from where Lee Harvey Oswald is alleged to have fired the fateful shots, still towers over the scene and two macabre white X’s in the middle of the road denote the precise locations where the course of US history changed in an instant.
It’s a place of remembrance, history and so much curiosity; this is arguably the so-called birthplace of the modern-day conspiracy theory because some have been unable to accept that Oswald acted alone. Soccer fans were here and our producer observed some waiting for breaks in the traffic to pose with their Spanish and French flags by the second X in the middle of the road, in what was quite a bizarre scene.
Given our surroundings and the theories around Kennedy’s death, I asked some of them if they believed any of the conspiracy theories that have been swirling about this World Cup – including the charge that Argentina has been favored by the referees, as Egypt’s manager and players so forcefully alleged a week ago. One politely declined to comment, he said he worked for a broadcast rights-holder – fair enough. Another became demonstrably anxious at the thought of being recorded for an interview and his pace quickened as he walked away from the spot where Abraham Zapruder filmed the assassination.
However, I did find an American who was prepared to indulge me for a moment. “Like the JFK thing,” said Chuck Williams, gesturing over his shoulder at the second X mark.
“It’s easier to assume the worst, and it may not actually turn out to be true. I’ve always taken the view that it’s harder to keep people quiet than it is to actually execute something along those lines,” Williams added. “Are FIFA this wonderful organization that are worthy of praise? Probably not, but as far as the conspiracy towards rigging games, it seems like it would be pretty tough to do.”
Something I think we can all (well, the vast majority of us) agree on.
The Final Whistle: Folarin Balogun speaks about the red card controversy
Just when you thought you couldn’t possibly hear any more about that red card controversy that derailed the USA’s World Cup campaign a few weeks ago, we are back with some more.
That’s because the man of the moment, Folarin Balogun, has spoken about the incident on “CBS Mornings.”
“I was in shock. It wasn’t even a tackle,” he said when speaking about the moment he was sent off. “I just had to accept the decision and try to be there for my team.”
Only not everyone accepted the decision – we’re looking at you, Donald Trump.
“My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy. I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique,” Balogun added.
“But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. There was a lot of outside noise and that’s hard to avoid.”
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