Dani Olmo began his 2026 World Cup campaign as a substitute against Cape Verde, but he quickly became a key pillar in Luis de la Fuente's lineup and is expected to lead Spain's offensive efforts in Tuesday's semi-final against France.

With the highly anticipated match approaching, the importance of having a player with Olmo's abilities to fill the gaps between the lines becomes clear.

Given the team's reliance on a possession-based style, Olmo's participation appears crucial thanks to his skill in linking the midfield and the attack.

At the start of the tournament, De la Fuente said: 'He is a master of playing between the lines.'

The 28-year-old Barcelona star is enjoying a rare period of prosperity, and despite widespread recognition of his talent and ability to create opportunities, recurring injuries have prevented him from maintaining consistency, which kept him from achieving a greater international presence.

Before the match against Belgium, Olmo said: 'My life and career have been like this; I always have to prove who I am, but that's not a problem, it's a challenge I set for myself, to prove it once again, as I always have,' adding that, unlike his peers, he had to emigrate outside of Spain in his teens to build his football future.

Olmo... formed at 'La Masia', Barcelona's youth academy, but in 2014, at the age of 16, he decided to leave to experience something different (Reuters).

Emigration for success.

He was developed at 'La Masia', Barcelona's youth academy, but in 2014, at the age of 16, he decided to leave the club due to the difficulty of joining the first team, which at the time included players like Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

But instead of moving to another big club on the continent, he and his family chose to go to Dinamo Zagreb, a club with a good reputation for developing young talent (Luka Modric, for example, is a graduate), even though it is far from the spotlight of the major leagues.

Olmo previously said: 'In Croatia, it was a different culture, and I learned a lot physically.'

He added: 'In Spain, the focus was more on the ball, especially at Barcelona (...) but Croatia benefited me a lot. I was 16 years old and I was training with national team players who had played in the World Cup. It was a big step for me. It made me develop physically and mentally because the game was faster.'

In Zagreb, his name began to stand out before he moved to Leipzig, where he refined his talent in the Bundesliga, until returning to Barcelona exactly two years ago.

He is considered a key element in German coach Hansi Flick's team thanks to his ability to play between the lines and open up space for his teammates, as well as his scoring contribution: 20 goals and 17 assists in 88 matches in the Catalan team's shirt.

Olmo returned to Barcelona after having established his name as a prominent star (AFP).

With De la Fuente in the youth categories.

De la Fuente did not need to see him at Barcelona to call him up to the national team. As is the case with a number of 2026 World Cup players (Unai Simon, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, and Fabian Ruiz), Olmo was crowned European U-19 champion in 2019 under his leadership.

Two years later, he called him up again for the Tokyo Olympic Games, where Spain won the silver medal, even though he had already played his first international match with the senior team and scored a goal just 3 minutes after coming on as a substitute in the European Championship qualifiers against Malta in 2019.

He participated in the European Championship in the summer of 2021 and the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, but his most notable achievements in the 'La Roja' jersey came with De la Fuente, as he won the UEFA Nations League title in 2023, was a runner-up in 2025, won the European Championship in 2024, and now he is reaching the semi-finals of the North American World Cup.

De la Fuente values Olmo's dynamism in attacking play, his ability to make a difference, and his effort in pressing.

The number 10 for the Red national team said before the quarter-final against Belgium: 'We are a team that all attacks and all defends. The coach says that the first one who defends is the striker, and the rest follow.'

Olmo's career highlights the importance of patience and persistence, from his days at the Barcelona academy to his professional stint in Croatia and his subsequent return to play in the Spanish league. As he gets older, the player seems to have found the consistency he was missing, making him a trump card for De la Fuente in the decisive match against France. This encounter will be a real test of his ability to shoulder responsibility in one of the tournament's most important fixtures.