Yamal targeting birthday delight in France semifinal

Yamal will turn 19 on Monday, and there will be no better present than to celebrate a place in the final at MetLife Stadium in New York with a win over Les Bleu and Mbappe. 

The FC Barcelona star played a pivotal role as he helped Spain defeat Belgium 2-1 in last night’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles, but he knows France will be a different monster...

"I'm already looking forward to that game, I think ever since the World Cup started, everyone has been waiting for this match between two of the best teams in the world. I think France will come at us, but not for the whole match because I don't think there is any team that will play against us one on one all over the pitch for the whole match."

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Yamal has never lost an elimination game against Mbappe, from the Euros semi-finals (2024), UEFA Nations League semis (2024), to club finals between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Super Copa (2025), Copa Del Rey Final (2025), and the most recent Super Copa final (2026).

After a man-of-the-match display in the quarterfinal, Yamal was happy to have returned a good performance in this crucial clash, in a tournament that hasn’t presented him with many good opportunities before this quarterfinal.

"I reckon if we win this World Cup, no one will be saying I only scored one goal. As long as we keep on progressing I'll be happy."

Yamal has only scored one goal in five matches in this tournament so far, but it’s not something that bothers him that much, as the second world title for La Roja is the main target...