There have not been many World Cup semifinals in years gone by in which both teams are so openly confident.
France’s entire tournament has been an exercise in Didier Deschamps trying to quell the ambitions of his roster and the general public. “By experience, it isn’t when a French sportsman is feeling comfortable that they are better,” the stern manager warned.
Yet, a run of six straight wins, each convincing in a different way, has given rise to a sense of deserved satisfaction.
Spain has been nowhere near as exciting, but appears to be even more confident. Lamine Yamal’s barb towards the France squad has been echoed by Rodri and even his manager Luis de la Fuente. “With the utmost respect for our rival,” the Basque boss began, “we feel capable of beating any team.”
Given the players both sides have at their disposal, that self-assurance is understandable.
Kylian Mbappe Shakes Off Injury Concerns
Some alarms bells went off when Kylian Mbappé crumpled to the turf without any contact from an opponent or the ball in the second half of France’s quarterfinal stroll against Morocco.
With the game already won, the talismanic captain gave into the pain in his ankle and left the field for the final 15 minutes. However, both Deschamps and the player himself made a point of insisting that Mbappé would be “100%” fit for Tuesday’s semifinal.
Mbappé is the sharpened tip of a settled team. There are only two real positions up for debate in Deschamps’s current system: the left winger and Adrien Rabiot’s midfield partner.
Les Bleus’ boss has enjoyed the luxury of switching between the Paris Saint-Germain pairing of Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola to complete a devastating front four which always includes Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé. Barcola got the nod on Tuesday.
The talented Manu Koné has proven to be an able deputy to Aurélien Tchouaméni. However the Real Madrid totem was deemed fit enough to line up alongside Rabiot.
France starting XI vs. Spain (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappé.
Luis de la Fuente’s Midfield Shuffle
The one possible chink in France’s armor lies in its midfield. Deschamps trusts the work rate of his front four to leave only two in the middle of the pitch. Spain dominate most teams even when it doesn’t boast numerical superiority in the strongest area of its team.
De la Fuente has so many central options he could afford to drop Barcelona star Pedri against Belgium. “Pedri is a class player, one of the best in the world if not the best,” the Spain boss admitted, “but Fabián is also one of the best players in the world if not the best.” Pedri remained on the bench against France.
It’s an enjoyable dilemma for any manager to have, particularly one who has come to value control in the middle of the pitch above all else.
Despite outscoring both Pedri and Ruiz this summer, it was no surprise that Mikel Merino didn’t make the starting XI. Arsenal’s box-crasher extraordinaire has developed into a very helpful super sub, scoring late winners against Portugal and Belgium. “I look behind me and I see Mikel Merino and I think: ‘I’m calm as can be,’” De la Fuente understandably admitted.
Spain starting XI vs. France (4-2-3-1): Unai Simón; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabián Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Álex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal.
