Once again, thanks to a "miracle" from 'San Merino', the "savior" or "angel of Spain" as the Spanish newspapers called him—in the mystical euphoria of another late victory—after the match against Belgium, Luis de la Fuente's Roja prevailed, advancing to a semifinal that smells like an early final between the two big favorites.
Once again against France, in a 'Clásico' of European football in recent years that has often produced spectacular matches and brought luck to the Iberian team. For the third time in a row, the clash between the two sides of the Pyrenees will reach the semifinals : now a match a year, after those of Euro 2024 and the 2025 Nations League. Both were won by Spain, both with a detail that cannot be missed when reading the scoresheet: Lamine Yamal scored in each.
Last year (Merino also scored) he scored twice, in a 5-4 victory in which La Roja almost suffered a tremendous comeback after leading 4-0 and 5-1; in 2024 with a masterpiece of a goal – a remote-controlled left-footed shot from 25 metres that kissed the post before beating Maignan – which earned de la Fuente's team a draw and gave him the record of youngest goalscorer in the history of the tournament.
Both Madrid and Barcelona are hoping for this parallel because, up until the semi-final, both in that European Championship and in this World Cup, the Catalan starlet had yet to find his feet in terms of goalscoring.
A fact that seems - to tell the truth - to be more worrying in Italy than in Spain, where they prefer to look at the maturity of Yamal, who is increasingly the fulcrum of the attacking game rather than his rather inconclusive dribbling.
And he too, elected MVP against Belgium, displayed a calm demeanor in front of the microphones ahead of Tuesday's match, in which he will play for the first time - having just turned 19 since the day before - wearing the jersey number that corresponds to his age.
"I want to score, but it's not an obsession," he said after the Belgium match, with great confidence both in his own abilities and those of his teammates. "At the European Championships, I only scored once, and yet we won. We have no fear of France; that's why we're here. Either they reach three consecutive World Cup finals or we beat them three times in a row: if they have anyone to fear, it's us. We're two great teams."
"It'll be a one-on-one match," Merino, the hero of these last few American nights, analyzed. For this reason, unlike last year, Deschamps won't pit him against the more volatile Theo Hernandez, but against the solid Lucas Digne.
The good news for Spain is the late introduction of Nico Williams against Belgium, a key player in the team over the past few years but who has been through various injuries this tournament, and who could prove an added advantage against Les Bleus.
Then there's the defense, which only conceded its first goal in the quarterfinals, which will face a much more complete France offensively—with its new lineup and four star players up front—than in the past. They'll need to raise their concentration to reach the final act and to join Italy in sharing the record for consecutive unbeaten matches: to reach the 37th, they'll need to outlast the best.