Neither France nor Spain have trailed at this year’s World Cup

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) :

Kylian Mbappé and France haven’t trailed at all at this year’s World Cup. Neither have Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and clutch goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.

Only one of those teams can make it to the final.

France and Spain are both playing at their 17th World Cup, but have met only once previously on football’s biggest stage. They play today at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches.

After entering this tournament as FIFA’s top-ranked team, France has outscored its opponents 14-2. Mbappé, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals to match Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this time, and is one behind the Argentina captain’s career record of 21 at the World Cup.

The 27-year-old Mbappé has 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches, including one in the 2018 win over Croatia when he joined Pele as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final. And the star striker for Les Blues had said he is fine despite exiting in the 77th minute of their 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco after scoring a goal.

Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already been part of two semi-final wins with Spain over France. He was just days shy of his 17th birthday when he scored in a 2-1 win during the 2024 European Championship semi-finals, and Spain won again in Nations League play last year.

“I believe if France have to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion,” Yamal said after Spain’s quarterfinal victory over Belgium. “We were the ones that knocked them out before.”

The teen has only one goal while putting 10 shots on target after coming into this World Cup still nursing a left hamstring issue that forced him to miss the final weeks of the season for Spanish club Barcelona.

While Spain have outscored opponents 10-1 since a stunning scoreless draw against surprising Cape Verde to open group play, La Roja are still alive after Merino had late decisive goals after subbing into each of the last two games. All while goaltender Unai Simón set a World Cup record of 650 minutes without allowing a goal until Belgium found the net in the 41st minute of their quarterfinal game.

Merino scored in the 88th minute for that 2-1 win over Belgium on Friday. That came after the Arsenal forward’s goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for the 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16 at the same stadium where Spain’s semifinal match will be played.

QUARTET OF PAST CHAMPIONS

This is the first World Cup since 1990 that each of the final four teams are former champions.

Messi and defending champions Argentina, who beat France for the title four years ago, play England in the other semi-final match tomorrow in Atlanta.

In their only previous World Cup meeting, France beat Spain 3-1 in a round-of-16 game at the 2006 tournament in Germany.

Both teams have won the World Cup since then, with Spain claiming their only title in 2010. France won their second World Cup in 2018.

France, who will be playing on their country’s Bastille Day national holiday, are trying to join five-time champions Brazil and four-time winners Germany as the only teams to make three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil did it in 1994, 1998 and 2002 — winning two titles and losing to hosts France in the middle of that run. Germany’s championship in 1990 came after being runners-up in the previous two World Cups — all playing as West Germany at the time.

Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout in 2022 after playing to a 3-3 draw.

This is France’s seventh semi-final appearance, their fifth in the last eight World Cups. Spain’s only other semi-finals were in 1950 and then 2010 on the way to the title.

Today’s game will kick off at 2 p.m.