Movement may not stop, but it will slow down in many homes and cafes around the world across continents, as anticipation builds for the match between France and Spain this evening (Tuesday) at the 'Dallas' stadium in the semi-final of the 2026 World Cup. The awaited clash carries the flavor of an 'early final' of the World Cup, given the technical quality of the two teams favored to win the title, as the battle in the final four is limited to them, alongside England and Argentina who meet tomorrow (Wednesday) in the second semi-final.

• Matador Dominance

The Spanish team started the World Cup with strong predictions to win the title, but the rising performance of the French team and its strong results made it compete strongly for the top of predictions, making the awaited match an arena to resolve the partnership and prove quality between two schools brimming with an elite of world football stars.

The Spanish team enters the match armed with its direct superiority over France in the last two meetings between them, and the irony is that both were in the semi-finals but in different tournaments.

In the first occasion, Spain succeeded in eliminating France from the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after winning 2-1, before winning the title against England by the same score.

Then the two teams met again in the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League last year, in a dramatic match that remained etched in memory.

The Spaniards imposed their dominance and pulled away to 5-1, before France ignited the final minutes with three consecutive goals that revived hope, but it was not enough to turn the tables, as the match ended 5-4 in favor of Spain, which reached the final before losing it to Portugal on penalties.

• Fear of the Hex

While the French fear the continuation of the 'semi-final hex' against the Spaniards and its consolidation on the global stage, history records that the two teams have only met once in the World Cup, in the 2006 edition in the round of 16, where France had the upper hand, deciding the match 3-1.