Deschamps names Spain favourites for World Cup semi-final despite France's superior record

Didier Deschamps has publicly named Spain as favourites for the World Cup 2026 semi-final against France in Dallas on Tuesday, maintaining a position he has held throughout the tournament even as his own side have won every game and outscored their opponents by five goals.

The France manager pointed to Spain’s recent head-to-head record as the basis for his assessment. Spain beat France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals and again in last year’s Nations League, and Deschamps argued those results carry more weight than the current standings.

“If you see what Spain have done in the first match against Cape Verde, forget about that, but in the rest Spain confirmed they are the favourite,” Deschamps said. “I don’t want to add extra pressure to Luis [de la Fuente] and their team. They can attack and defend very well, they only conceded one goal. Luis and myself, we know how to defend well but with the quality of the two teams offensively we could think it is going to be a spectacular game.”

Captain Kylian Mbappé, who has scored eight goals in the tournament, was briefly a concern after coming off in the quarter-final win over Morocco with ice on his ankle. Deschamps moved quickly to dismiss any fitness worries. “He trained today,” the manager said, adding that Mbappé had indicated he was fine after the match.

The more pressing selection question for Deschamps is in midfield, where Aurélien Tchouaméni has recovered from a groin problem. The Real Madrid midfielder was named among the substitutes against Morocco but was not risked. Deschamps suggested he is now closer to available, though not fully fit.

“Even though he was on the bench for the last game, the risk was high,” Deschamps said. “He is better today. I am not going to say he has been 100 percent cured. The last game he played was two weeks ago but it does not mean anything.”

France top the FIFA world rankings and have been widely regarded as the strongest team in the tournament, but Deschamps has consistently deflected that status onto Spain throughout the competition.