Spain's head coach Luis de la Fuente says he knows France are a much better team than the one they beat in the Euro 2024 semi-final.
Spain will face France in the 2026 World Cup semi-final at the AT&T Stadium on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, early morning WIB. La Roja is trying to advance to the second World Cup final in the country's history.
"France are much better now than when we faced them before. Individually, they have improved."
"(Kylian) Mbappe is better, (Ousmane) Dembele is better. As a team, they are better. We have also improved," said De la Fuente.
In the semi-final of Euro 2024, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo scored within four minutes of each other as Spain erased an early deficit and won 2-1. They then beat England by the same score in the tournament final.
Still at Euro 2024, Mbappe provided an assist for Randal Kolo Muani's goal, but Dembele played less prominently during the 79 minutes of the semi-final match against Spain.
In addition, both Michael Olise and Desire Doue, two French stars who shone at the 2026 World Cup, were not selected for the team at Euro 2024.
When the two teams met again last summer in the UEFA Nations League semi-final, Spain won a tight game, winning 4-0 before eventually winning 5-4.
Mbappe, Dembele, Olise, and Doue were all in the starting lineup for the match. Mbappe scored one goal and one assist.
Meanwhile, in the 2026 World Cup, the quintet of Mbappe, Dembele, Olise, Doue, and Bradley Barcola have scored a total of 16 goals (eight from Mbappe) and 12 assists (five from Olise). France has scored 16 goals and conceded only two goals in six 2026 World Cup matches.
"We have studied France very closely. Their football quality is amazing, as is ours."
"The goal is to prevent their players from moving freely, stop them from connecting with each other, and reduce the impact of their strength as much as possible. That's football," said De la Fuente.
Spain have scored five fewer goals than France at the 2026 World Cup, but they have also conceded just one.
They did not concede a goal during the first 490 minutes of the tournament until Charles De Ketelaere from Belgium scored late in the first half of the quarterfinal match, which Spain eventually won 2-1.
France and Spain are often cited as the two biggest favourites in the 2026 World Cup, ranking first and third in FIFA respectively.
"I have said before that this could have been the final of the tournament. The other semifinal between Argentina and England could also be considered the final of the 2026 World Cup."
"The four remaining teams include the best in the FIFA rankings - the four best teams in the world. That means we have to keep improving ourselves."
"We have to eliminate unnecessary mistakes. We must not give the opponent easy opportunities. We need to control the game as much as possible."
"We have to be disciplined and smart in both penalty areas, both defensively and offensively. That is the message we will convey to the players," said De la Fuente.
The winner of France vs Spain will face Argentina or England in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19, 2026, local time.
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