Soccer
Lamine Yamal believes France should be more worried than Spain ahead of their titanic World Cup semi-final tussle.
La Roja booked their place in the last four with a 2-1 victory over Belgium in Los Angeles, with Mikel Merino coming off the bench to score the decisive goal again.
Spain have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for only the second time after 2010, when they went on to win the tournament in South Africa.
They have also set the outright longest unbeaten run in their history, now avoiding defeat in each of their last 36 matches since a 1-0 loss to Colombia in March 2024 (W27 D9).
Spain will now face France for a place in the final, and Yamal insists there’s no reason for the European champions to be afraid.
“If anyone should be afraid, it’s them. We’ve eliminated them [from Euro 2024 and the 2024-25 Nations League],” said Yamal.
“We are two great teams, for me, the two best, but we have no fear.”
And Spain boss Luis de la Fuente, who has now managed more games across the World Cup and Euros without ever losing than any other manager (13, W12 D1), shares Yamal’s views.
“It’s fair to think we’ll work to beat them; I think they’re just as worried,” De La Fuente said about France.
“We’re the only team that has beaten them two games in a row. A great team is going to face another great team.”
2 – Mikel Merino is the first player in FIFA World Cup history to score the winning goal in two different knockout stage matches as a substitute.
Dependable. pic.twitter.com/iBlLgEJt4m
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 10, 2026
There are just two examples of a player scoring the winning goal for Spain in the knockout stages of the World Cup as a substitute: Merino versus Portugal in the round of 16 on Monday, and Merino against Belgium in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Merino is also the first player in World Cup history to score the winning goal in two different knockout-stage matches as a substitute.
When asked about the Arsenal midfielder, De La Fuente said: “He is incredible, he has many virtues, he is world-class.
“He could play on any team and we are lucky to have him. We know that whenever we need him, he is there.”
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