Connect with us

Sports

France vs. Spain live updates: Euro 2024 score, lineups, semifinal highlights

Published

6 months ago

on

France vs. Spain live updates: Euro 2024 score, lineups, semifinal highlights

play

France and Spain face off Tuesday in the Euro 2024 semifinals, with the winner likely to be the favorite in Sunday’s final against either England or the Netherlands.

Spain has been the best team at the tournament, winning all five games while outscoring opponents 11-2. They beat Germany in extra time in the quarterfinals after knocking out Georgia in the Round of 16. Spain will be without several key players Tuesday, missing injured midfielder Pedri as well as suspended defenders Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand.

Despite France’s incredibly talented squad, the team has limped to the tournament’s semifinal in Munich. After finishing runner-up to Austria in group play, France beat Belgium 1-0 to begin the knockout stage before outlasting Portugal in penalties after 120 minutes of scoreless action in the quarterfinals. They’ve scored just three times in five games: two own-goals and a Kylian Mbappe penalty.

Follow along for live updates from Tuesday’s showdown:

Tuesday’s France vs. Spain match will air on FOX and can be streamed via FoxSports.com or Fubo.

The Euro 2024 semifinal between Spain and France has officially kicked off in Munich, with the winner moving on to Sunday’s final.

Spain got the ball into some dangerous areas in the first few minutes of the game, coming close with Fabián Ruiz failing to convert a free header on a curling cross in from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal in the fifth minute.

France vs. Spain lineups: Kylian Mbappe starts

Spain will be without three of its top players for the semifinal in Pedri (injured), Dani Carvajal (suspended) and Robin Le Normand (suspended).

Spain: Unai Simon; Jesus Navas, Nacho, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams; Alvaro Morata (c).

France: Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Theo Hernandez; N’Golo Kante, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani, Kylian Mbappe (c)

Odds via BetMGM

Regular time result:

  • France: +200
  • Spain: +170
  • Draw: +180

To advance:

Right back Dani Carvajal is missing the semifinal due to suspension, pushing 38-year-old Jesus Navas into a starting role for Spain.

Navas made his international debut in 2009 and won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain, playing his club football for Sevilla and Manchester City. He recently signed a “lifetime” contract with Sevilla, his boyhood club.

Kylian Mbappe to deliver for France vs. Spain?

France coach Didier Deschamps is putting his faith in Kylian Mbappe finding form in Tuesday’s semifinal against Spain despite struggling through the tournament.

Mbappe’s broken nose, suffered at the start of Euro 2024, means he has to wear a mask but even with the protection he looked to struggle after a painful blow from a ball to the side of his face against Portugal, was not involved as much as he had been before and played without his usual swagger.

Deschamps said the loss of form from Mbappe, whose lone goal at the tournament was a penalty against Poland in the group stage, was understandable given several setbacks in the last weeks.

“It’s not just linked to the last match, but everything he had to deal with before, with a back problem at the end of the league season, the trauma he had (to his nose). He could have been forced out of the tournament,” Deschamps told reporters. 

– Reuters

Lamine Yamal shines for Spain as 16-year-old

The youngest player in Euro history, Spain’s Lamine Yamal has been one of the most exciting players at this tournament, picking up three assists as his team has won all five games en route to the semifinals.

France’s Adrien Rabiot told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s game that keeping Yamal uncomfortable would be a key to success.

“We saw that he was a player who knew how to handle pressure very well,” Rabiot said. “It will be up to us to put the pressure on him above all, not to let him feel comfortable and to show him that to play in a Euro final, he will have to do much more than what he has done so far.”

Spain wants ‘beautiful spectacle’ in semifinal vs. France

While Spain have looked in imperious form in their five straight wins in Germany, goal-shy France have come under fire from fans and pundits for some unimpressive performances and have reached the last four without scoring a goal in open play.

Spain manager Luis De la Fuente said that he doesn’t think that watching France is “boring”, but acknowledged that Spain have a different approach to the game under his command.

“We all try to build a gameplan that will help you win. It comes that our model is all about doing that through a beautiful spectacle,” he told a press conference.

“Spain are an eye-catching team, I won’t deny that, it’s our DNA, but in the end, here it’s about winning. We want to play, but we want to be practical.”

– Reuters

Pedri injury woes for Spain

Spain’s 21-year-old midfield star Pedri suffered a knee injury on a hard challenge by Tony Kroos in the quarterfinal win against Germany, which brought his tournament to a premature end.

The injury occurred less than 10 minutes into the match and Kroos, who retired from the game after the loss, apologized to Pedri in an Instagram post – to which Pedri responded.

“Thank you Toni Kroos for your message,” Pedri said. “It’s football and things like that happen. Your career and history will stand forever.”

France coach Didier Deschamps tries to avoid leaks

French midfielder Adrien Rabiot said coach Didier Deschamps had been forced to keep his tactical plans close to his chest, even with his own players, because they were leaking out before matches at the European Championship.

Deschamps was reported to have changed both the line-up and the tactical approach just hours before their quarter-final win over Portugal last Friday and also did not tell the players the line-up until they were on the bus on the way to the stadium.

“Inevitably, there is collateral damage. It’s difficult for the coach, when he’s trying to implement his strategy, because the information leaks out before training is barely over,” Rabiot told reporters at Monday’s press conference ahead of France’s semifinal with Spain. “It is not nice to see that when you really worked hard on something, that at the end of the session, the media have already caught wind of it.”

– Reuters

The final for Euro 2024 will be played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, July 14. The venue previously hosted the 2006 World Cup final (Italy defeated France) and 2015 UEFA Champions League final.

Euro 2024 final date

The Euro 2024 final is scheduled for Sunday, July 14 at 3 p.m. ET in Berlin.

Contributing: Reuters

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading