European champions Spain beat France 2-0 in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday, producing a controlled display to book a place in Sunday's final.

Many refuse to say opponents' names, wear the same often-unwashed jerseys, sit in the same seats and eat the same meals before each match, convinced that changing anything could jinx the team's chances of lifting another trophy.

France recalled Bradley Barcola to their attack and Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield for their World Cup semifinal against Spain on Wednesday as Luis de la Fuente named an unchanged side.

More than a month after the tournament got underway, the first semifinal at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, promises to be a blockbuster contest. Widely billed as the 'final before the final', the clash is expected to deliver the highest quality game.

Around 90,000 people welcomed back Norway's players to Oslo on Monday after they returned home from making a historic run to the World Cup quarter-finals.

Lamine Yamal turned 19 on Monday with diamonds around his neck, mischief in the family and the biggest match of his life ahead but the Spain forward's clearest message before the World Cup semi-final against France was not about goals, gifts or fame.

Spain may have ended France's European dream two years ago, but in doing so they also reshaped Les Bleus, forging a side far better equipped to challenge the team that forced its evolution.

It could be a match of validation of their particular styles, but rarely do two sides meet on the world stage with such an assembly of class and potential.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said his team plan to go on the "front foot" against World Cup favourites France when they face off in a heavyweight semi-final showdown on Tuesday.

Argentina and Britain fought a short conflict over the islands known by the British as the Falklands and Argentines as the Malvinas in 1982, in which 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British combatants died.

Bangladesh midfielder Hamza Choudhury has backed Kylian Mbappe over Lamine Yamal to make the decisive difference when France face Spain in the first semifinal of the FIFA World Cup tonight, despite describing the teenage Spaniard as the best player in the world at present.

France's exciting attack led by Kylian Mbappe take on a technically accomplished Spain team in the first semi-final of the World Cup on Wednesday [1am, Bangladesh Time].

It is one of the puzzling paradoxes of this World Cup: France captain Mbappe is shining as brightly as ever for Les Bleus ahead of Wednesday's semifinal [1am, Bangladesh Time] against Spain in Dallas.

The holders' passage to Thursday's semifinal against England has been accompanied by repeated complaints from opponents over refereeing decisions, amid social media speculation the tournament has favoured Lionel Messi's side.

The quality of football has rarely dipped. Every match seemed to offer something worth watching -- tactical masterclasses, stunning goals, dramatic comebacks, controversial refereeing decisions or stories that extended well beyond the pitch.

Suffering remains an unavoidable, deeply embedded experience for this team; a tax Argentina always seems destined to pay before they can taste glory, or otherwise. The question is whether Scaloni can survive the next wave of it by standing still.

Former Manchester United attacker Diego Forlan is set to take over on a temporary basis as the new Uruguay boss after Marcelo Bielsa left the role following a sorry World Cup campaign.

Lionel Scaloni barely registered among the coaching royalty gathered in Bilbao.

From dramatic late winners and tactical masterclasses to intense pitchside confrontations, this collection captures the pivotal moments, tactical battles, and raw emotional outbursts that have shaped both European heavyweights' journeys through the tournament so far.

The beautiful game absorbed him completely and, despite his shy, quiet nature, his answer at primary school never changed whenever teachers asked about his future: “A footballer.”