Spain Receives Strong Advice for World Cup Clash Against France
Newsweek · C · trust 48/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Spain and France meet in the FIFA World Cup semifinals, showcasing two of the world's top international football teams and some of the brightest stars on the pitch.
By now, many are familiar with France's Kylian Mbappe, who has risen to the top of the goals scored list throughout this event and is currently tied with Lionel Messi at eight goals apiece. Mbappe remains a favorite to win this year's Golden Boot for most goals.
Spain features emerging football star Lamine Yamal, and a former USMNT star believes it's critical to get the 19-year-old phenom involved as quickly as possible if they want to defeat France.
"They need to get the ball early to him," former USMNT player Geoff Cameron advised . "Let him pin back the fullbacks of France. I still haven't seen enough of him. He hasn't shown that ruthlessness that he's shown with Barcelona."
"But when he's in these one-v-one situations, he's gonna win some, and he's gonna lose some. It's about his body language after, if he loses them. What's his reaction? If you get touches in to him earlier in the game, he gets in that flow, then he feels that confidence, then he really starts to shine and shows his ability," Cameron said on ESPN's "First Take."
"Get him the ball early and let him do his thing," the former USMNT star indicated Spain must do against France.
Yamal got off to a strong debut in the FIFA World Cup, scoring his first-ever goal against Saudi Arabia in Spain's 4-0 victory in their Group H matches. However, despite often getting the ball and showing off his fancy footwork to elude defenders, he's been unable to score any other goals.
With La Liga's Barcelona, Yamal has a combined 30 goals in his past three seasons, scoring 16 of them last season. He also tallied 11 assists last season and has 29 assists in his three seasons with Barcelona.
Something will have to give in this semifinal matchup. According to Underdog , Spain is on a 36-match unbeaten streak in regulation, while France has not lost a competitive international match since May 2025.
One thing that might give Spain the boost they need to beat the tournament favorites could be seeing Yamal take over early and often on the pitch.
Spain and France clash in their World Cup semifinal matchup beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
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