France and Spain don dey set to lock horns for the World Cup semi-final for Dallas, Texas. Dis one na match wey everybody don dey wait for, as both teams don show say dem be the best for the tournament so far.
Kick-off time na 2pm local time, wey be 8pm for UK, 3pm for US East Coast, and 5am for Australia. The match go hold for the home of America’s Team, and the atmosphere dey electric.
France, wey be pre-tournament favourites, don reach semi-final eight times before. Dem don win four of dia previous seven semi-finals, including the one against Croatia for 1998, Portugal for 2006, Belgium for 2018, and Morocco for 2022. Na three times dem lose: against Brazil for 1958 and West Germany for 1982 and 1986.
Spain, on the other hand, dey appear for only dia second World Cup semi-final. Dem win dia only previous one against Germany for 2010, wey later make them win the whole thing. Dem also participate for the 1950 final pool, wey no be semi-final proper but still show say dem be strong team.
For this match, France go wear dia first-choice blue kit, while Spain go wear dia sweet white second strip, as per protocol for colour-blind viewers. The referee na Ivan Barton from El Salvador, wey be 35 years old and don already officiate three matches for this World Cup. He don show red card to Paraguay‘s Miguel Almiron for covering im mouth during a brouhaha against Turkey.
France make two changes from the team wey beat Morocco for quarter-final. Aurelien Tchouameni don return from injury to replace Manu Kone for midfield, while Bradley Barcola come in for Desire Doue on the left flank. Spain, wey beat Belgium to reach semi-final, no change dia starting eleven. Mikel Merino, wey don be match-winning supersub for the last two rounds, still dey on the bench, while Fabian Ruiz get nod ahead of Pedri for midfield.
Both teams get star players wey fit decide the match. For France, Kylian Mbappe dey lead the race for Golden Boot with eight goals, while Ousmane Dembele get five. For Spain, Mikel Oyarzabal be dia top scorer with four goals, and Lamine Yamal don also shine.
The match go be a big test for both sides. France dey aim for third straight World Cup final appearance, after winning for 2018 and finishing runners-up for 2022. Spain dey seek only dia second World Cup final appearance, after winning for 2010. The two teams don meet only once before for World Cup, for 2006, when France beat Spain 3-1 for round of 16. But for recent times, Spain don get better of France, winning for Euro 2012 quarters, Euro 2024 semis, and last year’s Nations League semis with 5-4 scoreline.
France start the match by sitting back and holding shape, before launching press. Spain dey see more of the ball for early exchanges. The match go be tight, and e fit go to extra time and penalties. So far, only four penalty shoot-outs don happen for this World Cup, and another one fit come tonight.
