New Delhi, July 12 -- DALLAS - The last time Kylian Mbappe faced Spain at anything that mattered, his team lost. Spain beat France 5-4 on penalties at the 2025 UEFA Nations League semifinal, a game that swung four times before the spot-kicks ended it. On Tuesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, he tries again - with considerably higher stakes.

France and Spain meet in a World Cup semifinal for only the second time. The first was in Germany in 2006, when France won 3-1 through goals from Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, and Zinedine Zidane. That night is remembered as one of the cleaner French performances of that vintage tournament run. Tuesday will not be as clean. Both teams have earned their place through seven weeks of attrition across No...