‘No Fear'-Lamine Yamal Sends Ominous World Cup Semifinal Warning to France
"If France should fear anyone, it's us," Lamine Yamal confidently proclaimed in the aftermath of Spain's 2–1 win over Belgium in the second of the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals.
It's hard to argue against Yamal's point, even though Spain needed 88 minutes and a mistake from Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens to get over the line at SoFi Stadium-substitute Mikel Merino the beneficiary after Manchester United's No. 1, only playing because Thibaut Courtois went off with a quadricep injury 20 minutes before time, parried Pau Cubarsí's relatively tame low drive into his path.
Yamal has scored just once at this World Cup-in stark contrast to the other major superstars at this tournament-but his brilliance was once again on show for Spain's opener. Some extremely clever yet subtle movement dragged Belgium's left back Maxim de Cuyper out of position, and Pedro Porro benefitted to slide the cross in that Fabián Ruiz would eventually score from.
Charles De Ketelaere's equalizer threatened extra-time before Merino's late winner, which was fully deserved on the balance of play as Spain enjoyed 68% possession, had 41 touches in Belgium's penalty area and had eight shots on target.
"We have knocked them out [before]. We have beat them two times," Yamal confidently said postmatch. "Honestly, I think we're the two best teams at the World Cup, so we'll see what happens, but we do not have any fear."
France the Team Everyone Is Talking About
Norway and Erling Haaland, England and Harry Kane and Argentina and Lionel Messi are still, at the time of writing, knocking around at this World Cup, but all the talk and focus has been on the ‘fabulous front four' of France.
Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise are the heartbeat of Les Bleus's attack, with the triumvirate joined by the equally talented Bradley Barcola or Désiré Doué, depending on which line of attack manager Didier Deschamps opts to use.
Zlatan Ibrahimović, speaking as a pundit on Fox's coverage, thinks Mbappé, Dembélé and Olise are three of the top five players in the world, joined at the very highest level by Haaland and Yamal. "This France team is gonna destroy you, and it feels like they're not even giving 100%," he ominously remarked in the aftermath of the 2–0 win over Morocco, "I'm sorry to say, but it feels like that. Imagine if they would push and give 100%, where they suffer and they really push for it and fight for it.
France will have to fight for it against Spain, and will draw on the experience of losing to it in the semifinals of the 2024 Euros. "You know what Spain can do," Thierry Henry warned after that same Morocco game.
It's clear Spain hasn't yet operated at 100% this summer. A draw with Cabo Verde set the tone for a slow start to its tournament, but a watertight defense has enabled the midfield and attack to find its rhythm with each passing game. Dani Olmo and Pedri have been particularly impressive with their passing and movement, with Mikel Oyarzabal in good touch up front and Yamal showing flashes of brilliance here and there.
Yamal's Confidence Radiating Through Spain's Camp
Yamal is not alone in thinking Spain has the capabilities of getting past France. Manager Luis de la Fuente, who continues to get the best out of a technically gifted group of players, admitted there is high hopes within the camp, and why not? This is just the second time Spain has ever got to the semifinals of the World Cup-and the only time it did previously, it won the tournament.
"The expectations are very, very high for the next game," he told reporters. "We're concentrated on this next game and very well aware of the potential of our opponent at the next game. But also we are very clear that we are able to beat France.
"We have the quality and it's a semifinal again. We've had a semifinal against them. We were successful. The game will be very demanding. It'll be energetic. We'll need to have the best version of ourselves."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘No Fear'-Lamine Yamal Sends Ominous World Cup Semifinal Warning to France.
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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 9:35 AM.