William Saliba, the French national team defender, followed in the footsteps of Morocco's star at the World Cup after his sad substitution in the match against Spain.

Spain and France met on Tuesday at the Dallas stadium in the semifinal of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

In the 30th minute of the match, Saliba left the Dallas stadium in tears after suffering a muscle injury that prevented him from continuing the match.

According to the statistics account "MisterChip", this became the second fastest substitution due to injury in the history of World Cup semifinal matches.

The fastest substitution was by Moroccan Romain Saïss, who was injured just 20 minutes into the match against the same French team in the semifinal of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

#OJOALDATO - William Saliba's substitution is not the earliest due to injury in a World Cup semifinal. In 2022, Romain Saïss had to be substituted in the 20th minute against France. — MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) July 14, 2026