Tonight's the big one, Mbappe's France vs Yamal's Spain for a place in the World Cup final

[Outlaw]

Kickoff is 7pm local at Dallas Stadium, and this is genuinely the tie the whole tournament has been building toward, the World Cup's top ranked side against the team with the best defense left in the competition. France arrive unbeaten through six matches, outscoring opponents 14-2 along the way, with Kylian Mbappe leading the Golden Boot race on eight goals, level with Messi, and Michael Olise one assist away from tying Pele's all time World Cup assist record in a single edition

Spain's route has been far scrappier than the scoreline suggests useful, every win since the group stage bar one has been by a single goal, and two of those winners came after the 85th minute, including a stoppage time strike against Portugal. What has carried them is defense, Spain went six straight matches without conceding before finally shipping one against Belgium in the quarterfinal. Lamine Yamal, still nursing a hamstring issue from the end of his club season, has publicly said this is the biggest match of his career and that beating France would be the best birthday gift he could ask for

This is only the second time these two nations have ever met at a World Cup, and the first time since 2006. Whoever wins gets Sunday's final at MetLife Stadium, whoever loses plays Saturday's third place match in Miami

France-Spain World Cup semi: Neither side has trailed, but only one can winwww.aljazeera.com