World Cup 2026: France v Spain semi-final buildup; Atlanta police step up security for England v Argentina – live

Fifa has moved its video assistant referees on-site for the semi-finals, following criticism of decisions during the quarter-finals.

Until now, VAR officials had been operating from a central hub at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas, regardless of where the match was played.

I just clocked that it’s Bastille Day in France!

Julia Riches has written in and I’m glad to say we’re on the same page:

Olise has been my player of the tournament, too. I loved watching him and Eze play at Palace, and agreed with Robyn Cowen that they should have been sold as a pair. He’s been scintillating this World Cup, and I say that as someone who supports Spain.

But don’t let us dictate the discourse. Who has been your favourite player and why is it not South Africa’s right-back, Khuliso Mudau?

Argentina have scored 17 goals at this World Cup, more than any other team.

One more against England would equal their highest total at a single tournament: 18, set on the way to winning the trophy in 2022.

But their progress has been accompanied by growing complaints about refereeing decisions, with “VARgentina” becoming the less-than-subtle nickname among their critics.

The latest flashpoint was Breel Embolo’s controversial red card during the quarter-final against Switzerland. Swiss coach Murat Yakin called the decision “unacceptable”, while former referee Christina Unkel warned that the tournament’s expanded VAR protocol risks turning reviews into full-scale re-refereeing.

England against Argentina did not especially need another layer of suspicion and grievance. It has one anyway. The internet will explode if VAR gets involved again.

The BBC is heading across the pond!

Matt Hughes, as he so often does, has the skinny:

“‘It is easy to create this division; it is an English mentality’ says Kane. People of India appreciating the assessment with a slow clap.”

You said it, Krishna Moorthy, not me.

Harry Kane has accused broadcasters and the wider media of trying to manufacture a split between Jude Bellingham and Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel described England as fortunate to beat Norway, prompting Bellingham, when the manager’s comments were put to him immediately after the match, to respond: “Whatever…” Meeow!

But Kane says far too much has been made of the exchange.

“It is easy to try and create this division,” the England captain told the BBC. “It seems like an English mentality, an English thing to do at these major tournaments.”

Kane argued that Bellingham had just emerged from a draining extra-time contest and had not heard Tuchel’s full remarks. He also insisted England’s progress has been built on unity between the players, coaches and staff.

A disagreement about one performance, then. Not yet a constitutional crisis. Phew!

Seeing loads of speculation around the future of Julián Álvarez.

According to the Independent, Arsenal are getting close to signing the Argentina striker from Altetico Madrid.

Maybe it all depends whether or not Declan Rice clatters him in a tackle tomorrow night?

France’s preparations do not apparently stop when Didier Deschamps leaves the room.

Adrien Rabiot and Jules Koundé have revealed that the players regularly gather privately at the team hotel to dissect matches, discuss tactics and work through problems without the coaching staff.

A squad full of elite footballers conducting their own evening seminars. Presumably nobody has to be reminded about the reading.

I wonder which French player is the guy who puts his hand up just before the bell sounds and says, “Sir, you forgot to give us homework.”

We all went to school with someone like this.

Are these the best two managers at the World Cup?

Probably not. But here’s an interesting couple of stats for you.

Didier Deschamps will take charge of his 26th World Cup match tonight, moving beyond Helmut Schön’s record for a manager.

At the other end, Luis de la Fuente has never lost a World Cup or European Championship match: 12 wins and one draw from 13. No manager has ever gone that long in a major tournament without defeat.

The most experienced manager in World Cup history against one who has yet to discover defeat at a major tournament. Not a bad subplot.

There’s an interesting comment below the line from ‘Flippergoogly’.

“Deschamps has Olise playing as a pedestrian. Great, chess-like decision making passing , but killing off his dribbling and ability to take the ball forwards. Maybe understandable with the speeds and skills of Frances forwards……but something as a tactic that I expect to backfire against Spain”

Let’s agree to disagree. Olise is not the methodical 10 who slowly builds, but it’s not as if he hasn’t been full of running.

I think he’s been the player of the tournament. At least my player of the tournament. I think he is the reason why France will triumph tonight. It’ll be close, but I can see the winning goal coming from a drop of his shoulder, a scything pass against the grain from his right foot, and an assist that will prove the difference.

Not sure if this is an ominous sign or not, but Matthew Dony has noted something:

So, according to Opta, it’s 52%/48% whether England stay in or leave? That seems familiar…

Hello everyone.

Good to be back after a swim at the lido – though the sun only came out after I left, so need to feel too jealous.

I’ll be with you for a couple of hours. Let’s get stuck in.

Why don’t we recap some of the articles that landed this morning:

A second dog that supports France has appeared on the news wires! And with that wholesome image I will head off and hand you back to Daniel Gallan.

Sunderland are set to make the Belgium right back Thomas Meunier their first summer signing.

The 34-year-old, a free agent after leaving Lille, is undergoing a medical on Wearside today. The former Broussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain defender, who made three appearances at this summer’s World Cup and has 83 senior international caps, will offer Regis Le Bris’s side invaluable experience ahead of their impending Europa League campaign.

Reuters has a quick snap that Beşiktaş have said they have opened negotiations for Arsenal and Belgium’s Leandro Trossard.

Brighton have signed 19-year-old Croatia defender Luka ⁠Vuskovic from Tottenham for what is believed to be a club record fee of £46m.

John Windmill has pulled together an amazing gallery here of some of the best images to come out of World Cup penalty shoot-outs. I am old enough to remember the first ever one – France v West Germany in 1982 after that assault on Patrick Battiston. A scroll through this is bound to stir some emotions – especially for those of us whose nations don’t have particularly great shoot-out track records. And yes, the Netherlands, I am also looking at you, that’s not just an England thing.

I am enjoying these pictures of France fans gathered in Dallas ahead of today’s semi-final with Spain.

There is even a little dog there lending its support to Les Bleus.

And fair play to these people repping Spain on the fringes.

Oliver Glasner has been speaking to Nottingham Forest’s website, and in a shock for those who seem to think running a Premier League team is like playing a videogame, he has revealed there is “no button to press” that will automatically make his side competitive.

PA are carrying these quotes from him:

For me it is very important that it is exciting and challenging. I really believe that us all together – the staff, the players, the fans, the leadership of the club – we can be really competitive in the Premier League which makes me excited.

There is no button to press that automatically makes it happen. It is a daily thing that will take progress over the coming weeks, which is what we have started.

The people are what is most important and that is what gives me a lot of confidence for this project. I have met great people – you can have the best stadium, the best training ground, but if you don’t have the right people, it doesn’t work.

Now we have to find the way that is best to work together. It is not just work for me, it is my life. This is a traditional club with a fantastic fanbase and a very ambitious owner that wants to take a step forward.

Manchester City are intent on signing Ayyoub Bouaddi for €100m (£85m), Lille’s 18-year-old midfielder who impressed for Morocco at the World Cup.

Bouaddi, who is French-born, is attracting a host of suitors following his performances for Morocco this summer, and while the proposed fee is high for a relatively-inexperienced teenager, City view him as a long-term investment.

Good afternoon/morning/evening. I am still laughing at Opta putting out that stat yesterday that England have the best win ratio under Keir Starmer than they’ve had under any other prime minister. Not just because it is hilariously irrelevant, but because it immediately posed the question that surely Liz Truss would have racked up better figures? It turns out very much not – during her tiny tenure at Number 10, not only did Truss manage to see off the Queen within a couple of days of meeting her, but managed to be in office for only two England games, a 1-0 defeat in Milan to Italy and a highly entertaining but frustrating 3-3 draw at home to Germany, giving her a win ratio of 0%. It is thinking about things like this that stop me being in a panic about England’s defence facing Argentina’s attack tomorrow.

With that my watch is ended, I’m handing over to Martin for the next few hours. Enjoy!

Kane for the Ballon d’Or? He has had an incredible season but how England fare at the World Cup will surely have an impact on if he can win the prestigious award:

Revenge is on the table for the semi-final between France and Spain, have a read:

The BBC has copped a lot of criticism for not being in America for the World Cup, instead they have been broadcasting from Salford. That will change for the semi-final, find out all the details here:

Want to know more about the defending champions Argentina? Here is a scouting report for you to swat up on England’s semi-final opponents:

Anyone in the mood for a cartoon? David Squires has you covered:

Some football news away from the World Cup, new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment. Read what he had to say:

I don’t know if you have seen any clips on social media but there was a huge turnout for the Norweigan team’s homecoming yesterday. Have a read of the reception:

Thank you Daniel and hello everyone. It’s quite the week of football we have on our hands so first up from me, here is how each semi-finalist is ranking:

That’ll do for my first shift.

I’m back at 2pm. But you’re in safer hands til then with Sarah Rendell raring to go.

Over to you Sarah!

For only the third time in World Cup history, all four semi-finalists are former champions.

It previously happened in 1970, when Brazil, Italy, West Germany and Uruguay reached the last four, and again in 1990 with West Germany, Argentina, Italy and England.

Argentina, France, Spain and England have won seven World Cups between them. Three of the past four tournaments were claimed by teams still standing here: Spain in 2010, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022.

The expanded 48-team World Cup produced plenty of novelty. Its final week, however, belongs entirely to the old establishment.

Here’s Jonathan Wilson again.

[What a tournament he is having, by the way]

This one is on Argentina’s ‘accidental’ manager who got a tune out of Messi.

But, Opta’s supercomputer gives England a 51.9% chance of reaching the final, with Argentina on 48.1%.

In 90 minutes, England win in 38.2% of simulations, Argentina in 32%, while the draw after 90 comes in at 29.7%. Once all is said and done, England’s hopes of reaching the final sits at 50.9% according to Opta.

So after all the history, politics and mythology, the cold calculation is essentially: good luck picking a winner.

Oh, Opta has France’s chances of progressing from tonight’s game at 57.7%.

It really is so, so tight!

Speaking of semi-finals records, England fans will want to avoid this one.

This will be Argentina’s sixth World Cup semi-final. They have progressed from every one of the previous five.

Their current run is formidable too. Argentina have won six successive World Cup matches, their longest winning sequence at the tournament, and have scored exactly three goals in each of their past four games.

How about some more love for the Yamal clan?

This is just delightful. Ashifa Kassam, in Madrid, tells the story of Lamine’s younger brother, three-year-old Keyne, who has become a social media darling:

France are chasing rare history tonight.

Victory would take them into a third consecutive World Cup final. Only Brazil, between 1994 and 2002, and West Germany, between 1982 and 1990, have previously managed that.

This is their seventh semi-final appearance, and their fifth in the past eight tournaments

Spain, meanwhile, are playing in only their third World Cup semi-final. Their previous appearances came in 1950 and during their title-winning campaign in 2010.

In a game that could come down to the finest margins, France hold a slight advantage.

Spain have travelled approximately 16,000km farther than their opponents during this World Cup.

Spain based themselves in Chattanooga and have crossed three time zones to play their matches. France, meanwhile, have remained at their Boston base and tonight will play outside the Eastern time zone for the first time.

Alex Baena admitted Spain are “a little tired from so much travel.” I’m not surprised. Though I doubt they’ve been flying coach on Delta Air.

Dave Skinner offers a personal view of the England v Argentina rivalry.

I hope his experience is not ubiquitously shared and that there are fans from both nations who get along:

We spent 5 weeks in Brazil for the World Cup in 2014 and, due to some quirk in the group qualification procedures, spent very little of it following England. We instead hung out with many of the other nations’ fans during that time, and the only ones that we received open hostility from were Argentinians. We were accused of stealing their islands on multiple occasions.

The Argentinians received their own share of hostility too though. I was lucky enough to attend the Argentina v Iran group stage match and wore a Kingstonian shirt. I’d decided that I would swap the Ks shirt with the first person who asked to do so. After the match (Messi last minute winner, obviously), an Argentinian fan came up and asked to swap. I then had to walk back to the centre of Belo Horizonte wearing an Argentina shirt with Zanetti on the back. Now, not only did most of the Argentinians still despise me for my thinly disguised Englishness, but all the Brazilians hated me for wearing an Argentina shirt too. I sold that hot potato to some kid in a Salvador hostel ASAP and bought a Esporte Clube Bahia shirt instead. I sometimes wonder if the Argentinian bloke is still shunned in his hometown for wearing the shirt of an 8th tier English football club when he arrived home.

Sports fans really can be silly sometimes.

One of Spain and France will have to chase a game for the first time.

Here is another indication of just how imposing these two sides have been: neither France nor Spain has trailed at any point during this World Cup.

France have outscored their opponents 14-2, while Spain went a tournament-record 650 minutes without conceding before Belgium finally found a way past Unai Simón.

Unless we get all the way to penalties with the score locked at 0-0, one of these teams will enter uncharted territory.

The more I hear Lamine Yamal speak, the more I wish nothing but the best for the kid who just turned 19.

He responded to former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s remark that France are a great team but “did not have any French players”.

“Tomorrow we’ll play a brilliant match but, if football serves any purpose, it’s to bring people together,” Yamal said. “France and Spain are examples of integration. That’s what football is all about: integration. Not talking about what someone else has said.”

The son of a Moroccan father and Equatorial Guinean mother, he has already shown support for the people of Palestine and refugees around the world.

A superstar athlete with a moral compass. Protect this person at all costs.

I really enjoyed this interview with Rodrigo Hernández.

Or Rodri, as I think most of us will know him.

I love the tightrope he walks here. Confident in his own team but complimentary of the opposition. Sure, all these elite athletes are media trained and adept at saying the right things, but I think he does a good job coming across as sincere throughout.

Credit to Sid Lowe (who really is very good).

More from Ed Aarons in Miami.

Yes, football is a team sport, and yes, Argentina have a stacked side, and yes, England, in my opinion, are the better team.

But it’s hard to ignore the diminutive elephant in the room. You know, the one with magic in his left boot who seems to operate on a different plane to everyone else.

This will be the first time Lionel Messi plays England. Woah!

Also, can I suggest a drinking game for tomorrow night? Do a shot every time the camera cuts to David Beckham, or the commentator mentions him. My sense is you’ll be blotto before half-time.

Speaking of the big fixture tomorrow, here are three players who remember the dramas of 1998 and 2002.

Rob Draper spoke with Diego Simeone, Michael Owen and Glenn Hoddle to get their thoughts on two iconic matches between England and Argentina at the World Cup.

Atlanta police are increasing staffing and resources for Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina.

The department says additional officers will be deployed around the stadium and across the city’s entertainment and high-traffic areas, with large crowds expected before and after the match:

As Atlanta prepares to host an upcoming World Cup semi-final match and welcomes increased numbers of residents and visitors, the Atlanta Police Department has enhanced its citywide public safety and security posture. Additional personnel and resources are already deployed and will continue to be strategically assigned in and around the event venues, entertainment districts, and other high-traffic areas to help ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. These proactive measures are designed to protect the public, deter criminal activity, and ensure residents and visitors can safely enjoy this historic event.”

The precautions come amid increased attention in the rivalry between the countries. Argentina’s April 2 War Veterans Federation has urged supporters to keep politics out of the occasion, describing the semi-final as “not an armed rematch nor historical compensation”.

A fairly sensible request. It is a football match, albeit one unlikely to feel like an ordinary one.

Elliot Anderson covered a whopping 14.8km against Norway in the stifling heat of Miami.

Ed Aarons writes about the all-action midfielder from Kansas City:

Krishna Moorthy has written in.

I knew it wouldn’t be too long before he did.

“Good morning Daniel. Three Ballon d’Or winners of the last three years are involved in the semifinals. With a delectable one on one clash tonight. Both teams tonight also have in them a runners up. Clash of the titans indeed”

We’ve been promised attack versus defence before, but France v Spain really fits the bill.

According to Opta, France arrive in Dallas with the most productive attack at the World Cup. Spain bring the stingiest defence recorded at the tournament in the modern statistical era. Something, as they say in the disaster films, has to give.

Here are the numbers:

• France have scored 16 goals and generated a tournament-high 14.3 xG.

• Their 47 shots on target work out at 7.8 per game, the highest World Cup average on record since 1966.

• Kylian Mbappé has eight goals, while Ousmane Dembélé has five. Michael Olise leads the tournament with five assists.

• Spain, meanwhile, have faced just seven shots on target in six matches. Their average of 1.17 per game is the lowest recorded at a men’s World Cup.

• They have conceded only 0.31 xG per match, while the average chance against them has been worth a paltry 0.05 xG.

• Spain have also averaged 66% possession and 598 completed passes per game.

Is it a cliche if i use the phrase, unstoppable force meets immovable object?

In case you missed Jonathan Wilson’s encompassing yarn about the semi-finals, well, here it is:

We’ve got our first email of the morning.

It’s from Tim Read, about 1,426 miles away.

“Good morning! Whilst I understand that everybody has their eyes focused on France – Spain, I also have the privilege of being invited as a media guest to the Riga FC – Ararat Champion’s League qualifying game. Of course, I will be in the nearest bar immediately afterwards….”

Have fun mate!

More from Nick Ames in Dallas.

France are out for revenge after a Lamine Yamal wonder goal was the difference between the sides two years ago.

Beyond Kane and Bellingham, the man at the heart of England’s midfield is the most important player in the side (imo).

Good thing, then, that he’s fit and ready to start.

Let’s get things going with two pieces to wet the whistle.

First it’s Sid Lowe reporting from Dallas who hears from Lamine Yamal, a young kid who doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘pressure’:

Nick Ames is also in Dallas and, like the rest of us, is full of praise for a French team that has the potential to go down as one of the greatest of all time:

It’s the deep breath before the plunge. The little leg shake before the starting gun is fired. The sense of anticipation as you notice your waiter carrying a plate of food that looks like your order.

You know what I’m saying? Of course you do! It’s the World Cup semi-finals!

For the first time in the tournament’s history the world’s top four ranked teams have made it to the penultimate round. And few can argue that France, Spain, England and Argentina deserve to be here (though I’d love to know if you think otherwise).

Tonight at 8pm BST, 2pm in Dallas, it’s the freewheeling French against the methodical Spanish.

We’ll build up to that as well as check in on how England and Argentina are getting on, look at some more Fifa shenanigans and sweep across any club transfer news that filters our way.

As always, send in your thoughts or questions. All are welcome.