Yamal reveals the tactical recipe that sank France in World Cup semi-final

Lamine Yamal was quick to deliver his analysis of the World Cup semi-final won by Spain against France. In an interview with L’Équipe, the FC Barcelona forward detailed Luis de la Fuente’s tactical plan that suffocated the Blues.

“In matches against France, there are two options: either it’s an open match, with counter-attacks, and in that case, France will probably end up killing you because they have great players up front, or you keep the ball and you dominate,” explained the Barcelona prodigy. He added: “The match started well for us with the 1-0, we started to have the ball and, with so many high-quality players, when you have the ball, it eventually creates a very big gap.”

Yamal also clarified his role in opening the scoring, which came as early as the 22nd minute. Without finding the net himself, he provoked Lucas Digne’s foul, earning a penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal converted. “It’s a game action we won. In this specific case, it’s me who gets the penalty, but I think that at 1-0, a thousand things could still happen. What matters is that we played the match very well from start to finish,” he said.

Kylian Mbappé, Yamal’s main rival in the race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, struck a similar tone about the French defeat. “They won, and in football, when you win, you’re right. I think we failed in our initial game plan, and against a team that likes to keep the ball, being behind on the scoreboard is always harder. It wasn’t a good day, and the World Cup is different from the Ligue des Champions: there are no two-legged ties,” said the former Paris player.

This diagnosis shared by both sides underscores how much Spain’s ball mastery deprived France of any attacking leverage. Yamal, for his part, sees in this world title an additional argument to claim the 2026 Ballon d’Or, convinced that no player deserves the supreme individual award more.