Mbappe and Yamal hold the key to France and Spain’s fortunes in the first semifinal.
| Photo Credit: AFP
World Cups begin by inviting everyone to dream. They end by asking who is truly great. This edition scattered hope among 48 nations, but now, with only four teams left, the old hierarchy has reasserted itself.
Argentina, Spain, France and England were the four highest-ranked teams entering the tournament and, for the first time since FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992, the world’s top four have all reached the semifinals.
This is also the third World Cup, after 1970 and 1990, in which all four semifinalists are former champions. The four teams have clinched seven World Cups among them and have won three of the last four editions.
France has looked the closest thing to a complete team. Didier Deschamps’ side has balanced control with explosiveness, conceding little while allowing Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise to flourish. Mbappe (eight) and Dembele (have) have combined for 13 goals, making France only the second team to have two players score at least five goals at the same World Cup, after Ronaldo and Rivaldo for Brazil in 2002. England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, with six strikes each, have since joined that exclusive list.
Deschamps, meanwhile, has become the most successful coach in World Cup history by victories, reaching a record 20 wins. He is now just two matches away from ending his tenure with another crown.
Spain has perhaps been the tournament’s purest footballing side. Luis de la Fuente’s young team conceded its first goal only in the quarterfinal against Belgium before Mikel Merino, once again emerging from the bench, produced another late winner. Spain carries a 36-match unbeaten run into its meeting with France, blending the possession football that once defined it with a greater willingness to attack directly when opportunities present themselves.
England has been less convincing but no less effective. Thomas Tuchel’s men have repeatedly found solutions to every problem they have faced. While Kane continues to lead the line, Bellingham has increasingly become England’s defining player, scoring decisive goals against Mexico and Norway in the last two knockout games. England has now reached the semifinals of four major tournaments since 2018, as many as it had managed in its history till then.
Defending champion Argentina’s route has been the most turbulent. Lionel Messi has once again shaped almost every important moment, though the three-time champion has repeatedly been forced to survive uncomfortable evenings rather than dominate them. Against Switzerland, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez eventually settled another exhausting knockout tie, continuing Argentina’s remarkable record in extra-time (advancing 11 times out of 13) at the World Cup.
The semifinal pairings offer two contrasting contests. France versus Spain is a meeting between perhaps the tournament’s two best teams, pitting Mbappe’s devastating transitions against La Roja’s patient control. England against Argentina carry a different weight: the latest chapter in a rivalry stretching back decades, with Messi chasing one more World Cup and England seeking a first final since 1966.
Supercomputers, AI Nostradamuses and oracle cats have picked France as the favourite. But World Cups have always had a habit of humbling prophets. Over the next few days, football’s four biggest powers will write their own fate on the pitch.
Published – July 13, 2026 06:45 pm IST
