France's head coach, Didier Deschamps, is anticipating a "spectacular" World Cup semi-final against Spain in Dallas on Tuesday. The match pits two football powerhouses against each other in a highly anticipated fixture.
Deschamps, who is set to step down as France's manager at the end of the tournament after 14 years, acknowledged the historical significance of the matchup. "The past is in the past," Deschamps stated, referencing previous encounters. "We are now at another level. We want to be in the final."
France, a two-time World Cup champion, has the opportunity to become only the third country to reach three consecutive World Cup finals. West Germany and Brazil are the only other nations to have achieved this feat. Deschamps, who was part of the French squad that won the World Cup in 1998 as captain and led them to victory in 2018, saw his team finish as runners-up in the 2022 final in Qatar.
He suggested that Spain would enter the semi-final as the favorites, noting their strong defensive record. "They have only conceded only one goal in six games," Deschamps said. "We know this could be a most spectacular game. [Spain boss] Luis [de la Fuente] and myself we know how to defend and with the quality of two teams offensively, we can think it's going to be a spectacular game."
Spain's manager, Luis de la Fuente, downplayed Deschamps' assessment of Spain being favorites. "It doesn't mean anything," he responded. "We are two great national teams facing one another. Whether we are favourites or not doesn't mean further pressure for us. We have that pressure anyway because we want to do well for our country."
Spain defeated France in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 en route to winning the title and also overcame France in a high-scoring Nations League semi-final last year. The upcoming match is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 PM BST.