“If France should fear anyone, it’s us”, says teenage winger
Lamine Yamal has warned France that Spain have no fear ahead of their World Cup semi-final meeting in Arlington, Texas, saying the European champions have already shown twice that they can overcome their opponents.
Spain reached the last four after Mikel Merino’s late goal secured a 2-1 victory over Belgium on Friday, setting up a third meeting with France in three years. Spain won both previous encounters, defeating France in the Euro 2024 semi-final and the 2025 Uefa Nations League.
“If France should fear anyone, it’s us,” Yamal said after the win over Belgium at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. “We have knocked them out [before]. We have beat them two times. Honestly, I think we’re the two best teams at the World Cup, so we’ll see what happens, but we do not have any fear.”
The match will decide which team reaches the World Cup final, with Spain aiming to return to the showpiece game for only the second time in their history after winning the tournament in 2010. France are seeking a third successive final appearance, having lifted the trophy in 2018 before losing to Argentina in the 2022 final.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente also said his side respected France’s quality but believed they had the ability to beat them again.
“The expectations are very, very high for the next game,” De la Fuente said. “We’re concentrated on this next game and very well aware of the potential of our opponent at the next game. But also we are very clear that we are able to beat France.”
Spain entered the tournament among the favourites but have not always produced convincing performances. They began with a goalless draw against Cape Verde before beating Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to advance from the group stage.
Their knockout matches have been decided by narrow margins, with Merino scoring late winners against Portugal and Belgium to keep Spain’s campaign alive.
Yamal, who returned from a hamstring injury to feature at the tournament, said opponents’ defensive approach has made it harder for Spain to display their attacking quality.
“It may seem as if we’re not playing great, but every team we play sits back against us,” he said. “No one has gone toe-to-toe with us, but in the end we got the win again today. That is the most important thing.”
