Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has described his side’s FIFA World Cup semi-final against France as “a final before the final”, backing his players to rise to the occasion against one of the tournament favourites.

Spain booked their place in the last four with a 2-1 victory over Belgium, setting up a blockbuster meeting with Didier Deschamps’ side.

“It’s not an exaggeration to describe this match as a final before the final.

“We’re one of the teams capable of reaching the final. From now on, we are fully focused on France,” De la Fuente said after the quarter-final victory as reported by The Guardian UK on Saturday.

While acknowledging the quality of the 2018 world champions, the Spain coach insisted his team has every reason to believe it can progress.

“We’re aware of their immense potential, but we also know that we’re the only team to have beaten them in two semi-finals,” he said.

“The match will be more open than ever. We will have to raise our level of play, and we’re going to give everything.”

De la Fuente added that Spain’s belief stems from the quality throughout his squad.

“The French are in great form, and we have different playing styles. We have the greatest respect for our opponents, but we feel capable of beating any team.”

Spain take confidence from its previous knockout success against France and will be looking to repeat that feat when the two European heavyweights meet for a place in the World Cup final.

Merino hailed after a decisive impact

De la Fuente reserved special praise for match-winner Mikel Merino, whose late goal against Belgium sent Spain into the semi-finals.

The Spain coach described the midfielder as “tailor-made” for his tactical system and highlighted the versatility that makes him such an important member of the squad despite not always starting.

“Merino has many virtues, he could play in any national team and any club, and for us, he is tailor-made for this team, for this model. We know that whenever we need him, he’s always there,” De la Fuente said.

“It’s unfair that Mikel isn’t playing, but it would be just as unfair if someone else were left out. Only 11 can play at a time, and they understand that role, the part they have to play at any given moment.”

He added that Merino’s ability to perform in multiple positions gives Spain another valuable option.

“He’s a very complete, versatile footballer; he’s played as a defensive midfielder, a number 6, a number 8, a number 10, and a number 9, and he does everything well,” De la Fuente said.

“There was a moment in the match when we were thinking of bringing him on as a centre forward. We saw that the game could go differently, and it worked out well.”

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When four-time World Cup winners Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament, then head coach Gennaro Gattuso lamented that Africa had so many places at the global showcase.

“Africa deserves fewer World Cup slots,” he said, referring to the number of automatic qualifying places allocated to that continent rising from five to nine in an expanded 48-nation event.

It became 10 when the Democratic Republic of Congo won an intercontinental play-off and returned to the World Cup after 52 years.

Was Gattuso, a midfielder in the Italian 2006 World Cup-winning team, correct? Was Africa overrepresented in the United States, Canada and Mexico?

Apart from a disastrous showing by Tunisia, who axed coach Sabri Lamouchi after their first group game and lost all three matches, African flag-bearers proved competitive, justifying their presence.

The other nine representatives reached the knockout stage, five as group runners-up. The other four were among the eight best third-placed teams.

That represents 90% success, the highest among the FIFA regions, followed by South America (83.33), Europe (81.25) and Asia (22.22).

Europe did surge to the fore in the knockout phase with six quarter-finalists. Africa and South America had one each.

African teams were less successful in the round of 32, with seven eliminated. Egypt made the round of 16 and Morocco became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals twice.

A worrying trend was conceding late goals, with star strikers Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland among those benefiting.

Messi levelled as Argentina turned a two-goal deficit against Egypt into a 3-2 triumph. Kane struck twice as England edged DR Congo, and Haaland netted the winner for Norway over Ivory Coast.

A spectacular collapse saw Senegal surrender a two-goal advantage with five minutes remaining against Belgium to lose after extra time.

Many Africans believed Senegal would be the best performers of the 10 qualifiers, but they flopped, losing three of four games and scraping into the round of 32 as the eighth-best third-placed side.

In the aftermath of the Teranga Lions’ exit, there were hints of internal strife. Midfielder Pape Gueye said he would not represent his country again until coach Pape Thiaw was dumped.

– Dramatic turnaround –

Egypt led Argentina 2-0, having had another goal controversially disallowed, with 12 minutes left. But a dramatic turnaround led to an Enzo Fernández header giving the title-holders a 3-2 victory.

Losing coach Hossam Hassan speculated that the officiating team for the game, headed by French referee Francois Letexier, may have been subjected to “external pressure” to favour Argentina.

FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina responded: “Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.”

TV analyst and former French star Thierry Henry said, “African sides relax too early. People talk about talent and passion, but when they go two goals up, the focus drops.”

Co-analyst and ex-Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added: “Several African teams that were leading found a way to lose. In a World Cup, that is not bad luck, that is bad game management.”

Morocco’s loss to France in the quarter-finals demonstrated that while African football is progressing, there is still a significant gap when facing the cream of Europe.

It took the Atlas Lions 83 minutes to have a shot on target and France goalkeeper Michael Maignan comfortably pushed away the speculative shot from Azzedine Ounahi.

There were no excuses from Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi: “France are a really great side… they have rarely had as much talent as they do now.”

Morocco have already qualified for the 2030 World Cup along with fellow hosts Portugal and Spain. A 115,000-seat stadium is being built near Casablanca with an eye to staging the final.

While Morocco went furthest, last-32 losers Cape Verde enthralled millions of spectators and TV viewers, despite not winning any of their four matches.

The tiny archipelago off west Africa with a population of just over half a million people defied Spain in their opening match to force a 0-0 draw.

Goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, made a string of superb saves to foil one of the title favourites. The worldwide impact was stunning. His Instagram following soared from 50,000 to five million.

Cape Verde equalised twice before losing 3-2 to Argentina in a last-32 tie, and their second goal, a looping cross-cum-shot from Sidny Lopes Cabral, should be a contender for the best of the tournament.

AFP

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