'They Should Be Afraid Of Us': Spain's Lamine Yamal Warns France Ahead Of FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinal

Published 10 July 2026 · europe

'They Should Be Afraid Of Us': Spain's Lamine Yamal Warns France Ahead Of FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinal Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026

'They Should Be Afraid Of Us': Spain's Lamine Yamal Warns France Ahead Of FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinal Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 04:28 IST Spain will face France in the first semifinal of FIFA World Cup 2026 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on July 14. Lamine Yamal warns France ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal. (Picture Credit: AP) Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 in Los Angeles on Friday (July 10) to book their place in the semifinals of FIFA World Cup 2026. Fabian Ruiz scored the first goal for Spain in the 30th minute of the first half before Charles De Ketelaere breached Spain’s defence and equalised for Belgium in the 41st minute. Mikel Merino then scored the winner in the 88th minute after coming on as a substitute for the second match in a row to seal the deal. The win over Belgium in the second quarterfinal of FIFA World Cup 2026 helped Spain book their place in the semifinals, and in the last-four clash, the 2024 European champions will face France.

The high-voltage semifinal between Spain and France is scheduled to take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on July 14, and ahead of the match, Spain’s 18-year-old star Lamine Yamal has fired a warning to France. According to Yamal, France should be afraid of Spain ahead of the semifinal as La Roja have already defeated Les Bleus twice. “We’re very happy to be in the semis. Very pleased with the qualification. We’ve been far superior," Yamal told TV Espana after Spain’s 2-1 win over Belgium. “All the other teams are behind us. We came here to win, and that’s all that matters." Lamine Yamal, en RTVE: “Ningún equipo nos ha jugado de tú a tú. Todos se quedan atrás contra nosotros. Si Francia tiene que temer a algún equipo, es a España". pic.twitter.com/LgVJ9iRDdn— Albert Ortega (@AlbertOrtegaES1) July 10, 2026 🇪🇸🇫🇷🚨 SE AGRANDÓ CHACARITA: El marroquí Lamine Yamal dijo que Francia y España son las dos mejores selecciones del Mundial.

pic.twitter.com/c7dFQgqZpu— Derechazo (@derechazoar) July 10, 2026 “If anyone should be afraid, it should be them (France) — we knocked them out of the Euros. We’ve beaten them twice. We’re not afraid of them. Obviously, we are two great teams, among the best in the world. We’ll see what happens, but we have no fear," he added. Spain vs France head-to-head in FIFA World Cup Spain and France have faced each other only once in FIFA World Cup history. Their lone meeting came in the Round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Hanover, Germany, where France secured a 3-1 victory. Spain took the lead through a David Villa penalty in the 28th minute, but France staged a remarkable comeback as Franck Ribéry equalised in the 41st minute before Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane scored in the 83rd and 92nd minutes, respectively, to send Les Bleus into the quarterfinals. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Harshit Bisht Senior Sub-editor Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist at CNN-News18, where he has been covering cricket, football, and major sporting events from around the world since July 1, 2024.