World Cup
2026-07-14 - France vs Spain
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: World Cup Semi Final
Tuesday 14th July 2026 - Kick Off 2pm (CST)
British Time 8pm
France
Didier Deschamps is set to step down as manager of the French national team at the end of this tournament and he is hoping to lead France to a third consecutive World Cup Final. The record in the European Championship is significantly poorer than the one France have put together on the world stage and this is an experienced squad both at international and club level.
Pretty early on in this tournament, France have looked one of the standout teams and they have been able to beat all opponents without breaking much of a sweat. Wins over Senegal, Iraq and Norway saw them top the Group and earn their 'Seeded' place in the Knock Out Rounds, but France may also have benefited from failures of some of the big dangers in this section having recorded victories over Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco in the Knock Out Rounds.
Credit has to be given to France for the clean sheets earned in the Knock Out Rounds and they have been comfortable winners over the three opponents faced. All have decided to try and make things as difficult as possible for this much respected attacking lineup, but France have found a way to break them all down in different ways and this is a team that have yet had to fight back from behind in the tournament.
Any yellow cards from previous Rounds have now been erased and France are going to be confident that the likes of Manu Kone and Kylian Mbappe will be available for selection.
Predicted Line Up: Maignan, Kounde, Digne, Saliba, Upamecano, Rabiot, Kone, Olise, Doue, Dembele and Mbappe (4-2-3-1)
Spain
They have won big tournaments in the last three years and Spain have a long unbeaten run, which is perhaps contributing to the late goals this team have been able to score to win big Knock Out ties. They will certainly feel they have been challenged more than France and Spain are the European Champions, which will give them plenty of belief in their bid to reach a first World Cup Final since winning it all in 2010.
A disappointing draw with Cape Verde was followed by wins over Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to top the Group Stage and that meant Spain were yet another of the 'Seeded' teams that took their rightful place in the Knock Out Bracket. The comfortable win over Austria has been followed by wins over Portugal and Belgium, which have both been earned courtesy of very late strikes, and Spain have only conceded once in the World Cup Finals.
Spain were beaten in the Nations League Final by Portugal thirteen months ago, although that was a game lost on Penalties after the Euro 2024 Champions were the superior team on the day. There is a hope amongst the Spanish squad that playing a team that will be looking to get on the front foot as often as possible could suit their own style after some tight victories in North America.
Having Nico Williams return to action is a boost for Spain, but he is likely going to be an impact from the bench again. Scoring consecutive winning goals does push Mikel Merino closer to the starting lineup, but Luis de la Fuente may still be happy keeping him on the bench as a difference maker when needed.
Predicted Line Up: Simon, Porro, Cucurella, Cubarsi, Laporte, Rodri, Pedri, Olmo, Yamal, Baena and Oyarzabal (4-3-3)
Head to Head
These two nations were used to playing international friendly games against one another before the first competitive fixture in 1984.
That came in the European Championship Final won by hosts France 2-0 and it sparked a run of 6 unbeaten in competitive fixtures between these nations from 1984-2006 and France won 5 of those.
Spain and France met again in Euro 2012 and this time Spain won 2-0 and they have now lost 1 of the last 6 competitive fixtures between the nations and won 4 of those.
France did beat Spain 2-1 in the Nations League Final in 2021, but the Spanish have responded with a 2-1 win in the Euro 2024 Semi Final and a 5-4 win in the Nations League Semi Final in June 2025.
Prediction
World Cup Semi Final matches have tended to be very tight, competitive fixtures and that is no surprise when you think of the reward for the winning team.
At the start of the tournament, France and Spain looked to be the standout teams at the 2026 World Cup and the only disappointment for fans is that they had been 'Seeded' to meet in the Semi Final rather than the Final.
The winner is going to be the favourite next Sunday when the World Cup is decided, but there will be so much respect for the opponent ahead of this Semi Final.
Spain have beaten France in two big Semi Final matches over the last two years and that will give them confidence, but the latter have produced the more eye-catching performances in the tournament. It was France who won when these teams met in the Nations League Final in 2021, but Spain are placing a lot of stock in the fact they won at Euro 2024 and also beat France last year in the Nations League Semi Final.
There is a feeling that Spain will enjoy facing a team that will want to come forward and they have certainly been more battle-tested compared with the French.
Having twenty-four hours less time to prepare may be something that Spain will be concerned about, but both have ample time and the match is going to be played under controlled conditions, which should help.
Historically, World Cup Semi Final matches have not featured a lot of goals with teams perhaps fearing opening up too early, but this is a fixture that has been of very high quality in the final third in the recent meetings. With the attacking players on display, both France and Spain are going to be very confident about their ability to hurt the other and backing at least three goals to be scored in normal time looks like it is a real runner.
Out of the two teams, Spain have shown a bit more balance in the overall performances, while France have not really been tested yet. The defensive vulnerabilities have been there for the French, but the likes of Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco have not have the kind of talented attackers that would have had the belief to exploit those.
Spain could edge it, but the overall feeling is that this is a 2-1 kind of fixture either way.
The Pick :
France 1-2 Spain
