This is the tie of the tournament: France and Spain, two of the best sides in the world, meeting in a final-like semi at Dallas Stadium with a July 19 date against England or Argentina on the line. Deschamps' France have been inevitable — a perfect nine points in the group, then a knockout run without conceding a single goal (3-0 Sweden, 1-0 Paraguay, 2-0 Morocco). Kylian Mbappe struck his eighth of the tournament against Morocco to pull level with Messi at the top of the Golden Boot race, and with Olise, Dembele and Barcola around him France carry the sharpest cutting edge left in the competition.

Spain arrive at their first World Cup semi since winning it all in 2010, having topped their group and dispatched Austria, Portugal and Belgium, with Lamine Yamal and joint-top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal leading the threat. History favors La Roja — they lead the all-time series 18-13 and have won the last two competitive meetings, the Euro 2024 semi (a 16-year-old Yamal stunner) and a wild 5-4 Nations League semi. Those recent games produced goals in bunches, but tournament semis often tighten up. Back France's finishing and defensive record to shade it 2-1, while respecting that Spain's control could just as easily drag this to extra time.