World Cup semifinal live: Spain leads France after tense 1st half

The World Cup semifinals are here. European titans France and Spain are meeting for a berth in the title match. Follow below for live updates.

Halftime analysis 📋

➡️ France looks rattled: For the first time in the World Cup, France lost its way. Mikel Oyarzabal's opener from the penalty spot - and the subsequent loss of key defender William Saliba to injury - had Les Bleus scrambling for a good 10 minutes. France was able to finally get its key players on the ball in the closing minutes of the half, but couldn't create anything of note.

➡️ France's only weakness: The lone area of the pitch where there have been any real questions about France in this tournament is at left-back, where Lucas Digne holds down the starting spot. He hadn't been exposed coming into Tuesday's contest, but his lackadaisical leg swing that caught Lamine Yamal inside the penalty area gifted the Spaniards their goal. From there, Yamal could sense the uncertainty in Digne's game, and looked to run at him at every opportunity.

➡️ Spain's resolute backline: No wonder Spain has only conceded one goal in the tournament so far. The possession-based style obviously helps - the other team can't score if it doesn't have the ball - but Spain's defenders have done well individually to limit the star-studded France attack, too. Les Bleus only had two shot attempts in the first half, and both of those came from outside the box. There's lots for Didier Deschamps to think about during the halftime interval. Expect to see Desire Doue very soon.

Bad to worse for France

30th minute: Already trailing for the first time in the tournament, France now loses star center-back William Saliba to an undisclosed injury. The Arsenal stalwart is replaced by Maxence Lacroix.

🚨 GOAL! Spain 1, France 0

22nd minute: The deadlock is broken. Spain is awarded a penalty after Lucas Digne's careless foul on Lamine Yamal, and Mikel Oyarzabal takes full advantage by ripping a left-footed spot-kick past Mike Maignan. Spain have offered very little as an attacking threat so far, but now the best defense in the tournament has a one-goal lead to protect. France has faced very little adversity so far in this competition. How will Les Bleus respond?

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Slow burn in Dallas

16th minute: We've only seen flashes of what these two teams are capable of as attacking forces so far. Perhaps we should've expected that. The two sides have scored just one goal each in the first half of their knockout matches at this summer's World Cup. It's all very tense and tight right now.

Spain pushing back

10th minute: Adrien Rabiot is the first player booked for stepping on the foot of Dani Olmo just outside the penalty area. Spain failed to make anything of the promising opportunity - Alex Baena's weak free-kick attempt went straight into the wall - but it's the first time Spain has been able to enjoy a sustained spell of possession inside the French half.

France looking lively

5th minute: Little of note inside either penalty area so far - France's first corner kick of the match was easily handled by Spain - but Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola have both had opportunities to stretch their legs in space and run at the Spanish defenders.

1st half underway

Here we go. The "final before the final" is underway in Dallas. One of Argentina or England awaits in world football's biggest game.

Pregame notes

Starting XIs

France (4-2-3-1) 🇫🇷

Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Olise, Dembele, Barcola; Mbappe

Spain (4-1-2-3) 🇪🇸

Simon; Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri; Ruiz, Olmo; Yamal, Oyarzabal, Baena

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has opted for the same lineup that started his team's quarterfinal win over Belgium, with Barcelona star Pedri once again finding himself on the bench in favor of Fabian Ruiz. It's a big call, but the PSG midfielder did score in the last round. Can he find the net again?

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Not to be outdone, Didier Deschamps has made two changes from his quarterfinal XI. Aurelien Tchouameni is fit again and regains his place in central midfield, relegating Manu Kone to the bench, while the rotation on the left wing continues between Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue. It's the former who gets the nod this time around, with the latter almost certain to see some action as a second-half substitute.

Kylian Mbappe starts for France - as expected - after overcoming a "slight" ankle issue suffered against Morocco. Mbappe is currently tied with Lionel Messi on eight goals apiece in the tournament, and can grab the outright lead in the Golden Boot race if he finds the net against Spain's resolute defense.

Something's gotta give

France and Spain are widely regarded as the two best teams remaining in the World Cup. Spanish bench boss Luis de la Fuente has even dubbed the semifinal contest a "final before the final." It's not hard to see why.

Neither team has trailed so far at this summer's competition.

France, looking to reach its third consecutive World Cup final, has outscored its opposition 16-2, with Mbappe leading a dazzling array of attacking talent that has thus far proven unstoppable. Spain, meanwhile, has conceded just one goal - the fewest in the tournament - and was riding a 650-minute World Cup shutout streak before Belgium found the net in the quarterfinals.

It's a classic "unstoppable force meets immovable object" situation.

France could become just the second European nation, after West Germany, to compete in three successive World Cup finals with a win, while Spain is trying to reach only its second-ever men's World Cup final.

Despite their various spells spent dominating world and European football, the matchup itself is exceedingly rare on the World Cup stage. The two behemoths have only ever met once before in the tournament, with Zinedine Zidane helping France claim a 3-1 victory in the round of 16 in 2006.

Yamal's time to shine?

Spain superstar Lamine Yamal hasn't been at his irrepressible best this summer. The teenager, who suffered a serious hamstring injury in mid-April that threatened to rule him out of the tournament entirely, recovered just in time for the World Cup, but he's clearly not fully fit.

Yamal has just one goal in the competition so far, showing only brief flashes of the brilliance we've come to expect from the Barcelona sensation.

But he now has the perfect opportunity to deliver a defining World Cup performance and, in the process, back up his pregame proclamation that France should "fear" Spain.

Yamal has priors against the French, too. The right-winger, who celebrated his 19th birthday Monday, will be looking to replicate the sensational goal he scored versus Les Bleus in Spain's 2-1 semifinal victory at Euro 2024.

This summer's World Cup has been headlined by the sport's biggest stars shining on the grandest stage - including France captain Mbappe. Yamal hasn't yet had his moment to match. Now's the time.

How to watch

United States 🇺🇸

English: Fox, FS1, and the Fox One app
Spanish: Telemundo and Universo

Canada 🇨🇦

English: TSN (1/3/4/5), CTV, and Crave
French: RDS

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