Spain reached the World Cup semifinals Friday, beating Belgium at SoFi Stadium to set up a showdown with France.
The semifinal, set for Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, pits Spain’s defense against the most dangerous attack left in the tournament, with a spot in the final on the line.
Spain and Belgium met in the quarterfinal Friday in Inglewood, California, with the winner advancing to face France, which eliminated Morocco a day earlier at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, according to Yahoo Sports. That semifinal kicks off Tuesday, July 14, at 3 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The winner advances to the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, against whichever side emerges from the tournament’s other semifinal. That match is set for Wednesday, July 15, in Atlanta, pitting the winner of Norway-England against the winner of Argentina-Switzerland, with all four teams still alive entering the weekend.
France’s Loaded Attack Awaits Spain
Belgium arrived at SoFi Stadium as a physical, direct side built on counter-attacking speed, the kind of matchup that can rattle a possession-heavy team like Spain if the game opens up. Belgium rolled into the quarterfinal off a 4-1 demolition of co-host United States in the round of 16, a scoreline confirmed in Yahoo Sports’ bracket recap.
Whatever trouble Belgium caused will look tame next to what’s coming. France enters the semifinal with the tournament’s most fearsome forward line, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise has supplied the connective tissue behind them giving France a level of attacking depth few teams left in the tournament can match.
Spain has controlled matches through possession and a defense that wasn’t broken down across the knockout stage until Belgium broke through, but France’s speed in transition and depth up front will demand a level of defensive discipline La Roja hasn’t been tested with yet in this tournament, whether in Canada, Mexico or the United States.
A Stacked Field Waits on the Other Side
Should Spain get past France, the road to the trophy only gets harder. Norway’s Erling Haaland has scored seven goals in this World Cup. The Manchester City star could be walking into the final on one of the hottest scoring streaks left in the tournament if Norway gets past England, whose run has leaned heavily on Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham.
On the bracket’s other half, Argentina enters as the defending champion, with Lionel Messi still supplying moments of individual brilliance at every stage of the tournament, while Switzerland has built its knockout run on structure and set-piece danger rather than star power. Any of the four would hand Spain a different problem than France’s speed, in Norway’s finishing threat, England’s midfield control, Argentina’s big-game pedigree or Switzerland’s compact defending and dead-ball threat.
For now, the assignment in front of Spain is narrower, if no less difficult. Manager Luis de la Fuente has three days to prepare his side for a France team that has outscored opponents without needing extra time so far, a test that will say plenty about whether this Spanish side is built for a deep July run through Texas and New Jersey.
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