Football fans' eyes turn Tuesday to Dallas, USA, where France and Spain renew their rivalry in a highly anticipated match for a spot in the 2026 World Cup final, but the battle is not limited to the two teams; it extends to a special duel between two of the game's biggest stars: France's Kylian Mbappé and Spain's Lamine Yamal.

France, the 2018 champion, enters the match aiming to reach the final for the third consecutive time, while Spain, the 2010 world champion and current European champion, seeks to achieve a rare feat of holding both the World Cup and European Championship titles simultaneously.

Mbappé continues to deliver an exceptional tournament, affirming his status as one of the world's best players. After a season in which he scored 42 goals for Real Madrid, the French captain leads the tournament's scoring chart with 8 goals, level with Argentina's Lionel Messi, and has contributed 11 goals (goals plus assists), the highest among all players in the tournament.

The Real Madrid forward became France's all-time top scorer this summer after surpassing Olivier Giroud, raising his tally to 64 goals in 104 international matches, while he continues to chase World Cup records, having increased his goal tally to 19, just one goal behind the historic record held by Messi.

Olivier Giroud told BBC that the secret to Mbappé's development lies in his personality, saying he has ambition and self-confidence, and has known for years where he wants to go, and has shown leadership maturity since his early days.

French journalist Julien Laurent believes Mbappé is poised to finish his career as the greatest player in French football history, predicting he will surpass names like Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini if he continues to achieve success with his national team.

Lamine Yamal (Reuters)

In contrast, Lamine Yamal enters the match amid anticipation for his true breakout in the tournament. Although he celebrated his 19th birthday on Monday, he has scored only one goal in five matches, after a muscle injury he suffered before the World Cup affected his readiness.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente stressed that the player still has time to show his best version, pointing out that what is required of him is not to score a large number of goals, but to make a difference in big matches, which aligns with the current Spanish team's style that relies more on control and possession compared to relying on fast breaks through the wings.

Despite his lower attacking numbers compared to Mbappé, Yamal excels in other areas, having completed more dribbles and contributed more defensively, both in ball recoveries and high pressing, reflecting the diversity of his roles within Spain's system.

Xavi Hernández, former Barcelona coach, believes that the future of football will be in Yamal's hands, emphasizing that his teammates look for him when matches become complicated, and that his impact at this age reminds of what Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Pelé, and Brazilian Ronaldo offered in their early days.

The match brings back memories of the Euro 2024 semifinal, when a brilliant goal by Yamal led Spain to come from behind against France and win 2-1, before Spanish superiority was repeated in last summer's Nations League semifinal with a 5-4 result, in which Yamal scored two goals to Mbappé's one.

Although the balance tips in Yamal's favor in their direct encounters, having emerged victorious in eight out of ten matches, Mbappé leads in scoring with nine goals to the Spanish star's six.

The Dallas match will decide a new chapter in one of the most anticipated football rivalries in the coming years, as the current leader of world football faces the brightest face of its future, with the prize this time bigger than any previous encounter: the ticket to the World Cup final.