France wary of Spain's quality ahead of World Cup semi-final

WALTHAM: France defender Ibrahima Konate said on Sunday his side are not intimidated by Spain ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final, but are fully aware of the challenge posed by a team that has conceded just once in the tournament.

Spain have reached the last four while pursuing a second World Cup title, backed by what has been the competition’s tightest defence so far. France, who won the tournament in 2018 and were runners-up four years later, also enter the match with recent experience of facing Spain after defeats in the Euro 2024 semi-finals and last year’s Nations League semi-finals.

Speaking at a press conference, Konate said France would focus on their own preparation rather than be overawed by the opposition.

You cannot fear anyone,

Konate said. He added:

We will now prepare as best as possible and hope the result in the end will favour us.

Konate also described Spain as a side packed with individual quality and said France would not centre their plans on a single player, even with winger Lamine Yamal drawing considerable attention. He said:

Spain are an exceptional team, with a lot of individual quality, so we won’t be focusing on just one player even though Lamine (Yamal) is a great player,

Konate had only a short substitute appearance in France’s victory over Norway in their final group game, while Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba have been the regular central defensive pairing as the pre-tournament favourites target what would be their fifth World Cup final.

France have appeared in four of the last seven World Cup finals. A place in the July 19 final in New York would further underline comparisons with West Germany, which reached four finals between 1974 and 1990. Konate, however, said France were not looking beyond the semi-final.

We are staying humble, we won’t fall into that trap,

he said.

France expect a stern test

France will have to find a way through Spain’s highly effective defence while also limiting the threat posed by Lamine on the flank. Fellow centre-back Maxence Lacroix said the French players respected Spain’s record in the tournament, noting that their only blemish had been a 0-0 group-stage draw against Cape Verde.

I would not say ‘fear’ but we are conscious of their quality,

Lacroix said. He added:

They have won all their matches (except a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in the group), so we respect them. They have high quality players but we want to win.

Lamine has been singled out as one of Spain’s key attacking threats and has been praised by his coach for keeping defenders occupied and creating room for teammates. Lacroix said France were ready for that challenge.

We will defend well, the best,

he said.

Lamine is a very good player and he has shown he can hurt teams at this World Cup. We will do the work that is needed.