France, Spain coaches praise each other ahead of World Cup semifinal

France and Spain will meet in the semifinals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. Coaches of the two football heavyweights heaped praise on each other ahead of what promises to be a pulsating clash. 

"If you see what Spain have done in the first match against Cabo Verde [a 0-0 draw], forget about that, but in the rest Spain confirmed they are the favorites," Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps said at the pre-match press conference.

"They can attack and defend very well, they only conceded one goal," Deschamps added. "Luis and myself, we know how to defend well but with the quality of the two teams offensively we could think it is going to be a spectacular game."

Les Bleus, which went to the final at both of the past two World Cups and won in 2018. Captain Kylian Mbappe has found the net eight times and leads the Golden Boot race. Ousmane Dembele has five with three coming via his hat-trick against Norway.

La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente hailed the two time World Champions, "France was one of the favorites."

The two sides met only once before at the World Cup. Back in 2006, France knocked out Spain 3-1 in the round of 16 after Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane all scored in that battle.

Nonetheless, Spain defeated France in their recent two meetings at the Euros, 2-0 in the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2-1 in the semifinals in 2024. Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo found the net for La Roja at Allianz Arena two years ago. Both players remain key figures in the Spanish dressing room. 

"Each team has its own demands and its own unique characteristics, but this team is very intelligent and knows how to navigate each moment of every match," De la Fuente noted. "We're now facing France, a team we know very well and where they know us very well. It won't have anything to do with the past."