Lamin Yamal says France the team should be feeling the pressure ahead of Tuesday World Cup semi-final after insistence Spain nothing to fear from Didier Deschamps.
Spain booked their place in the last four thanks to Mikel Merino’s winner against Belgium, while France beat Morocco to extend their bid for a third consecutive World Cup finals.
Two European heavyweights will meet in Arlington next week.
Spain recently enjoyed success against France, knocking them out of Euro 2024 and the Nations League in 2025, and Yamal believes history should give his team confidence.
“If France should be afraid of anyone, it’s us,” the Barcelona winger said after Spain’s win over Belgium.
“We beat them before, we won twice.
“Honestly, I think we’re the two best teams at the World Cup, so we’ll see what happens next, but we have no fear.”
De la Fuente is confident that Spain can complete the task
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente echoed Yamal’s confidence, but admitted his team in Texas is up for the challenge.
France are seeking a third World Cup final after winning in 2018 and finishing second behind Argentina in four years.
“The expectations are very, very high for the next game,” de la Fuente said.
“We are focused on this next game and we are very aware of the potential of our opponent in the next game.
“But we also understand very clearly that we can beat France.
“We have the quality and it’s a semi-final again. We had a semi-final against them. We were successful.
“It’s going to be a very demanding game. It’s going to be high-energy. We’re going to have to be the best version of ourselves.”
Spain is still looking for top gear
Despite reaching the semi-finals, Spain have yet to fully impress during the tournament.
After opening with a goalless draw against Cape Verde, they secured wins over Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to top their group before meeting Austria in the round of 16.
Their run to the quarter-finals proved more dramatic, with Merino scoring the winners against Portugal and Belgium to keep Spain’s hopes alive.
Yamal believes that the defensive tactics of the opponents did not allow Spain to show their best football.
“It might not seem like we’re playing well, but every team we play is against us,” he said.
“Nobody was keeping up with us, but in the end we won again today. This is the most important thing.
“We are very happy to be in the semi-finals. We have been here for a long time and we want to stay until the final.”
