Lamine Yamal believes France should fear Spain as the European giants head to the World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday.
“I believe that if France should be afraid of anyone, in my opinion it should be us,” the teenage sensation told reporters after beating Spain 2-1 on Friday to secure its first semi-final berth since 2010. “We were the ones who knocked them out before.”
Spain defeated France in the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship and again in the Nations League last year. Yamal became the youngest player to score in the continental competition.
The powerhouses will meet again next week at the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium for a spot in the finals.
“We are not afraid of anyone,” said Yamal, who was named man of the match against Belgium. «Obviously we are two great teams, world-class national teams, and for me they are one of the best. We’ll see what happens.»
Spain advanced after a winning goal from substitute Mikel Merino in the 88th minute of the quarter-finals at the SoFi Stadium. La Roja conceded its only goal of the entire World Cup late in the first half against Belgium, while France scored sixteen goals in its six World Cup games.
France has reached the past two World Cup finals, winning them all in 2018. Spain has reached just one World Cup final in its history, but the current team is undefeated in 37 consecutive league matches since March 2023 – a stretch that also includes a penalty shootout loss to Portugal in last year’s Nations League final.
Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente has been asked about this potential clash with France by the international media throughout the tournament, but especially since the start of the knockout rounds two weeks ago. He was uniformly complimentary towards Les Bleus, while echoing the confidence of his own players.
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“Let me be clear: we are not done yet,” de la Fuente said. «We are happy to be in the semi-finals, but we want more. We are capable of winning this match, and not only now, but I would have said this a few weeks ago.»
Yamal, who turns 19 on Monday, has provided just one goal and no assists while shooting 10 times on target in his first World Cup, but his play and activity on the right side of the Spanish attack has been noticeable in almost every match. He started the sequence that led to Spain’s first goal against Belgium in a two-man duel with Pedro Porro, which eventually led to Fabián Ruiz’s rebound goal after Dani Olmo’s shot.
Yamal said his modest statistics do not bother him, noting that he also scored just one goal (with four assists) while Spain won the European Championship two years ago.
Although Spain needed a late goal from Merino to win for the second game in a row, Yamal believes his team is ready for the challenge of arguably the World Cup’s most dominant team yet. Yamal cited Spain’s understanding of ball possession – a statistic the country has repeatedly dominated at this World Cup – as a way to push France away from its preferred style of play.
“I think we were much better (than Belgium),” Yamal said. «It seems like we are playing very nice football, but in reality there is no team that plays against us on equal terms. Everyone drops back, and that makes it more difficult. No one has had to deal with us. But in the end we secured the victory.»
Published on July 11, 2026
