France and Spain meet on the World Cup semifinal stage — on one side Kylian Mbappe’s pace and relentless hunger for goals, on the other Lamine Yamal’s magical football. When the two teams meet at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Tuesday, the personal duel between these two superstars will dominate the discussion, beyond the battle on the pitch.
At this World Cup, Mbappe has emerged as a goal machine, as expected, scoring eight goals in six matches to lead the race for the Golden Boot. After a superb season at Real Madrid, he has been irresistible in the national jersey too, contributing to 11 goals in all, and France’s attack has become the tournament’s most destructive. French football expert Julien Laurens said Mbappe was on the way to becoming a bigger player than Zinedine Zidane or Michel Platini, and would probably establish himself as the best footballer in France’s history after this tournament.
On the other side, many see the 19-year-old Yamal as the future of football; Xavi Hernandez himself has compared the Barcelona wonderkid to Messi, Maradona and Pele. Although he has not scored much at this World Cup, his tactical influence has had a positive effect on Spain’s play, and he becomes a menace whenever he gets the ball in front of the opposition box; his fighting mentality against Belgium in the quarterfinal impressed coach De la Fuente.
So far, the two stars have met a total of 10 times in club and international football. Yamal has won eight of those matches and Mbappe just two. But while Yamal leads on wins, Mbappe dominates on goals, scoring nine in those 10 games to Yamal’s six. In the last Euro and Nations League semifinals, Spain beat France through Yamal. Can France settle that score this time and reach the final, or will Yamal again show his magic?
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