ALEX CROOK PREVIEW: France v Spain

What a prospect in store for anyone lucky enough to have a ticket when World Cup favourites France take on European Champions Spain in a mouth-watering semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday, writes ALEX CROOK.

The French were my pick before a ball was kicked to win their third World Cup and it is impossible not to be impressed with the way Didier Deschamps’ star-studded side have navigated their way to the last four.

It has also been a relatively serene journey to this point for Spain, who had not conceded a single goal before beating Belgium 2-1 in a quarter-final that was maybe tighter than most people expected.

This could well be a case of Spain’s immovable defence versus France’s unstoppable attack, which sets us up for a very intriguing spectacle.

Spain have a good head-to-head record against France, losing just two of their last 10 meetings and beating them in both the semis of Euro 2024 and the Nations League a year later.

In fact, the last two occasions in which these teams have met at a major tournament, Spain have gone on to win the tie and then claim the trophy, which could be a good omen for Luis De La Fuente’s team.

France have reached the final at four of their last seven World Cups, most recently in that epic defeat to Argentina in Qatar four years ago.

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With Lionel Messi and Co lying in wait on the other side of the draw we could well be in for a repeat of that classic encounter, although from an England perspective, let’s hope that isn’t the case.

Deschamps’ men can become only the 13 to reach three successive finals, after West Germany and Brazil.

Spain, meanwhile, seemed to save their best performances for the Euros as opposed to the World Cup.

This is only their second ever semi-final on this stage, and their first since winning it in 2010.

However, they are 14 games unbeaten and have lost only one of their last 27 matches so this really is a very tough game to call and one likely to be decided on small margins.

I am going to stick with France as I think they will simply have too much firepower, especially with Golden Boot-chasing Kylian Mbappe in red-hot form.

France to win in 90 minutes and Mbappe to score his ninth goal of the tournament returns 3/1 as a build-a-bet with starsports.bet.

Backing the draw at half-time at 11/10 with starsports.bet is an angle that catches my eye, given Spain’s excellent defensive record to that point.

The other bet I really like here is Spain full-back Pedro Porro to be shown a card at 7/2 with starsports.bet as he is going to have his work cut out stopping France’s flying wingers.

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