Route to the semi-final<\/p>\n
France have had a trouble-free journey to their third straight World Cup semi-final, having won all six of their games so far and scoring 16 goals along the way.<\/p>\n
The potent attack of Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise has lived up to its pre-tournament billing, while names like Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki are ready to come off the bench if anything does go wrong.<\/p>\n
Spain will play France and England face Argentina for a spot in the 2026 Fifa World Cup final. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
France swept aside group stage opponents Senegal<\/a>, Iraq<\/a> and Norway<\/a> by scorelines of 3-1, 3-0 and 4-1 and made light work of Sweden<\/a> in the Round of 32.<\/p>\n Their toughest match came against Paraguay<\/a> in the Round of 16 as a Mbappe penalty saw them into a quarter-final fixture with Morocco<\/a> that the Europeans won 2-0.<\/p>\n Spain started their tournament with a surprise 0-0 draw against Cape Verde<\/a>, but turned that slight scare around by beating Saudi Arabia 4-0<\/a> and Uruguay 1-0<\/a>.<\/p>\n Their Round of 32 match was Spain\u2019s easiest knockout game, dispatching Austria 3-0<\/a>.<\/p>\n The two matches that followed both needed Arsenal\u2019s Mikel Merino to make a heroic cameo, with Merino scoring in the 90th minute to send Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s Portugal home<\/a> and then two minutes before the end of normal time in the quarter-final to knock Belgium out<\/a>.<\/p>\n The teams meet in Dallas for the first time since a thriller in Stuttgart last year.<\/p>\n Star players<\/p>\n Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has grabbed headlines throughout the tournament thanks to his goal-scoring prowess, having put the ball in the net eight times so far.<\/p>\n His link-up play with 2025 Ballon d\u2019Or winner Ousmane Dembele and tournament assist leader Michael Olise has been a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, one of Spain\u2019s biggest names, Lamine Yamal, hasn\u2019t found his best form yet after coming into the tournament off a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n However, other players have stepped up to put in solid performances to help their side progress, including Manchester City\u2019s Rodri, Arsenal\u2019s Mikel Merino (mainly off the bench) and Mikel Oyarzabal, who has been Spain\u2019s top scorer with four goals.<\/p>\n France v Spain history<\/p>\n Played \u2013 38<\/p>\n Spain won \u2013 18<\/p>\n France won \u2013 13<\/p>\n Draws \u2013 7<\/p>\n Last five meetings<\/p>\n 2025 \u2013 Spain 5 France 4, Uefa Nations League semi-final, Stuttgart<\/p>\n 2024 \u2013 Spain 2 France 1, Uefa Euro semi-final, Munich<\/p>\n 2021 \u2013 Spain 1 France 2, Uefa Nations League final, Milan<\/p>\n 2013 \u2013 France 0 Spain 1, 2014 Fifa World Cup qualification, Paris<\/p>\n 2012 \u2013 Spain 1 France 1, 2014 Fifa World Cup qualification, Madrid<\/p>\n Where to watch<\/p>\n The match will kick off at 7am NZT and is available to watch with a TVNZ+ event pass.<\/p>\n England v Argentina, Thursday July 16, 7am NZT<\/p>\n Route to the semi-final<\/p>\n England couldn\u2019t have had a better start to the World Cup, flying out of the blocks with a 4-2 win over European rivals Croatia<\/a>, but have since had a mixed bag of performances.<\/p>\n Ghana held them to a painful 0-0 draw<\/a> before they put in another tame performance to beat Panama 2-1<\/a> and finish top of their group.<\/p>\n DR Congo<\/a> gave them a scare in their Round of 32 fixture, going ahead early in the contest before captain Harry Kane came through with two goals to secure their progress.<\/p>\n England then produced what might end up being the game of the tournament against Mexico, coming away with a 3-2 victory at the Azteca<\/a> while also going down to 10 men.<\/p>\n They were then able to fight their way to a 2-1 victory over Norway<\/a>, which had to be settled in extra time.<\/p>\n Argentina could be perceived as having one of the easier routes to the semi-final, but they\u2019ve managed to make hard work of defending their crown.<\/p>\n They performed well in the group stage with 3-0, 2-0 and 3-1 wins over Algeria<\/a>, Austria<\/a> and Jordan<\/a>, but have not had as easy a time in the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n Cape Verde<\/a> took the South Americans to extra time in the Round of 32, while three goals in the dying minutes of their Round of 16 match against Egypt<\/a> secured their passage to the quarter-final.<\/p>\n