Challenger v champion as Spain face France for place in finalImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Both Lamine Yamal and Mbappe are looking to win a major tournament for the second time in their careersByAlex BrothertonBBC Sport journalistPublished2 hours agoFrance and Spain will renew one of the most tantalising international rivalries in Dallas on Tuesday, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.2018 champions France are aiming to reach a third successive final, while 2010 winners Spain are bidding to become just the fourth team to hold both world and European crowns at the same time.Both squads are bursting with talent, but all eyes will be on Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.Mbappe’s global breakthrough came at the 2018 World Cup, when his quickfire double helped France beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the last 16 on their way to winning a second champions’ star.Outshining one of the greatest players of all time was the first indicator that a changing of the guard was on the horizon – but now there is a new global star.Eight years later, teenager Lamine Yamal is looking to replicate what Mbappe did to Messi and ignite on the biggest stage after a quiet debut World Cup so far.’Mbappe will become the greatest player we’ve ever had’Figure caption, All the goals that fired France to semi-finalsIt is hard to look past Mbappe as the best player in the world right now.After scoring 42 goals in 44 games for Real Madrid last season – making him the top scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League – he has helped establish France’s attack as the most fearsome at this World Cup.The second-most expensive player in history leads the Golden Boot race along with Messi with eight goals in six games, and has made more goal contributions (11) than any other player.With 19 goals, if it were not for Messi (20), Mbappe would be the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer after surpassing Miroslav Klose’s long-standing record (16).The only blot on his CV is that despite enjoying two magnificent individual seasons at Real Madrid, he is yet to win a major trophy in the Spanish capital.After scoring in his first World Cup final, Mbappe scored a hat-trick in his second – but ended up on the losing side.This summer the 27-year-old captain overtook Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time leading goalscorer, and now has 64 in 104 games.”For me it’s just ambition and confidence,” Giroud told BBC Match of the Day when asked about Mbappe’s remarkable rise.”He knows where he wants to go. He is a leader and you could see from a young age he was very at ease. He was mature for his age.”Mbappe wants to break every record he can, but only if they serve the collective – it is no secret he is obsessed with equalling Pele’s record of three World Cup triumphs.”He’s carried this team through three successive World Cups where he has been the pivotal player,” says French football journalist Luke Entwistle.Yet, after his arrival in Madrid coincided with back-to-back trophyless seasons for Real Madrid, he came into this World Cup with something to prove.”He’s put in great numbers, but the perception in France and abroad is that he’s a player who is detrimental to the collective,” adds Entwistle.”There was talk about needing to run more off the ball, doing more defensive work. He has put that into action. The way France have been winning the ball back high this tournament would not have been possible otherwise.”Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini are widely regarded as the two greatest France players of all time, but French football expert Julien Laurens believes Mbappe will surpass them.”I predict him to be the number one by the end of his career. He has at least one more World Cup after this and the Euros to play in so he will probably become the greatest player we have ever had.”‘The next 15 years belong to Lamine Yamal’Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Lamine Yamal’s goal against Saudi Arabia made him just the second player aged 18 or younger to open the scoring in a World Cup match after PeleLamine Yamal only turned 19 on Monday, but he is already the best young forward on the planet.A breakout 2023-24 season with Barcelona ended with him being included in Spain’s Euro 2024 squad, and like Mbappe in 2018, he shone in his first major tournament and inspired his team to glory.Last year he was the Ballon d’Or runner-up aged 18, but a hamstring injury sustained in April disrupted his preparations for the World Cup. With just one goal in five starts, he certainly has not sparkled like Mbappe, Messi or Jude Bellingham.”I ask him to be calm,” reported manager Luis de la Fuente. “He came of age last year. He is 19. Now imagine I just told him to be calm, enjoy and forget about any anxiety. He should enjoy his football. The big day for Lamine has yet to come at this World Cup.”Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams’ lack of fitness has forced manager Luis de la Fuente to tweak Spain’s style – the European champions created chaos down the wings, whereas the current side prioritise control.”It means Lamine Yamal is working with less space, more defenders doubling up on him, and less dynamism in Spain’s game as a whole,” says Spanish football journalist Ruairidh Barlow.”So to a certain extent, it’s logical that he isn’t dazzling. What De la Fuente and Spain need from him – banking on control of the game and a solid defence – is two or three moments per game in which he unlocks or unbalances the defence. So far he has more or less provided that.”De la Fuente reinforced that idea before Lamine Yamal won more duels than any of his team-mates in the quarter-final victory against Belgium.”This is the moment for him,” the manager reported. “Not the moment to score 10 goals, but the moment to be decisive in decisive matches.”The strength of this Spain team is rooted in the collective, but there is still a level of deference to the 19-year-old.”We sometimes forget his age and perhaps we demand too much of him, but he’s so capable,” Xavi, who gave Lamine Yamal his Barcelona debut, wrote in The Athletic., external
“He has such an ability to do so many things on the pitch that his influence has grown. Team-mates search for him more. When there are problems at various points in the match, the ball goes to Lamine.
“He’s a leader on the pitch who makes the difference at a young age – something we’ve only seen with Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Pele and maybe Ronaldo [Nazario].
“The next 15 to 20 years belong to Lamine, if he wants.”
