France and Spain players before the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final.© AFP
France and Spain observed a moment’s silence before the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final. The gesture was done to pay respect to the 2016 Nice terror attack victims. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron earlier expressed gratitude to FIFA President Gianni Infantino for backing France’s request. On July 14, 2016, a truck rammed into a large crowd that was celebrating Bastille Day in Nice. At least 86 people, including children, were killed, and over 430 people were injured. The driver was shot dead by police. (France vs Spain FIFA World Cup Live updates)
Kylian Mbappe is in France’s starting lineup for Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal match against Spain after the striker exited in the 77th minute of the team’s quarterfinal win over Morocco. Mbappe scored his eighth goal against Morocco and enters the semifinals even with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. The 39-year-old Messi has a World Cup-record 21 goals in his career, one more than the 27-year-old Mbappe.
France coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappe was fine physically after the early exit against Morocco with what was described as a “slight” right ankle injury.
The France captain is among six players to start all seven World Cup matches for the team, along with fellow forward Ousmane Dembele and goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
For the sixth time in seven games, Spain forward Mikel Merino will come off the bench. The versatile Arsenal player scored the winning goals within minutes of coming on as a late substitute in a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the round of 16 and a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Belgium.
Lamine Yamal will start his sixth consecutive game for Spain a day after his 19th birthday. The Barcelona forward came off the bench in a 0-0 draw in the team’s opener against Cape Verde, the tiny island nation that turned into one of the World Cup’s biggest surprises.
Spain forward Nico Williams, who has been battling a muscle injury since the group stage finale against Uruguay, wasn’t in the lineup. He came off the bench in all three group matches before missing the first two knockout games. Williams entered in the 79th minute against Belgium.
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