Scoring: what to expect from the World Cup semifinals

For the first time in the history of the World Cups, the top four teams will play in the semifinals according to the FIFA ranking. Already on July 14, Spain and France will play for the first ticket to the final, and the next day, on July 15, Argentina and England will compete for the second. All four teams confirmed their status as favorites during the tournament, but now the price of any mistake will be maximized. Izvestia analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the semifinalists and the main tactical intrigues of the two decisive matches.

France – Spain

The Spanish national team is not in the best condition for the semifinals — Yamal and Pedri are clearly not in perfect shape, Oyarzabal has stalled, and only Merino's joker helps to pull out the matches. On the other hand, de la Fuente's team has something more important than the form of the leaders — the system.

At crucial moments, she is saved not so much by flashes of individual skill as by a collective organization. And this is a big difference with France and Spain, like in the summer of 2024.

On the way to the semifinals, the Red Fury had to switch game modes: Austria forced a lot of positional attacks, Portugal suffered without the ball and waited for the moment, Belgium spent almost 90 minutes in a low block, counting on counterattacks. The scenarios changed, but de la Fuente found solutions. If combinations did not pass through the center, the team calmly overloaded the flanks, and if it was not possible to open the defense from below, they released Mikel Merino and began using crosses and long—range strikes.

In general, no one here is shy about simple moves and abandoning classic positional football. Therefore, although Spain is inferior to France in terms of talent, it is definitely not worse in terms of organization — it is a very confident team that knows its strengths and weaknesses well.

The main question of this semi—final is whether Spain will be able to maintain its usual control over the pace of the match. France has become much more aggressive than it was a few years ago. She increasingly meets the opponent with high pressure, attacks quickly after selection and tries to deliver the ball to the other's goal as early as possible. So it is very important for Spain not to be cut off even in the final third, so as not to run into the murderous counter-attacks of the French.

Most likely, we are waiting for tactical chess from Deschamps and de la Fuente — who will give the initiative to whom, what non-standard moves will he come up with, will he force events? There are too many intrigues. It is clear that the performance of Rodri and Pedri in the center of the field will decide a lot for Spain, they should help to seize the territorial advantage. The French, on the other hand, logically rely on a magnificent attack, which, however, sometimes breaks away from the rest of the team too much.

While France is relying on Mbappe, Dembele and Olisa, Spain no longer depends on the inspiration of individual stars — it wins thanks to structure and discipline. Only one missed goal in the entire World Cup is a statistic that explains the power of this mechanism much better than any words.

However, it is France that is able to test it in a way that no one else has tested. Special attention will be paid to the duels on the flanks. Cucurella and Porro face an almost impossible task: to simultaneously maintain their positional attacks and not leave any free space behind Mbappe and Dembele. They will be ready to punish for any mistake. Therefore, it is quite possible that for the first time at the tournament, Spain will consciously abandon the usual high position of the extreme defenders, preferring a slightly more cautious model.

Minimizing frills: how the semi-finalists of the World Cup were determined

England, Argentina, Spain and France confidently passed their opponents without surprises.

England – Argentina

Argentina vs England is the real story of the World Cups and perhaps the most vivid part of it. How can you not remember the 1986 World Cup with the legendary performance by Maradona? The "Hand of God" and the goal of the Century are two anomalies that happened in the same quarterfinal match. And if it is difficult to repeat the goal with your hand due to the VAR, then at least one person on the field can still give a slalom pass. You know his name.

Of course, there is no such heated cultural and political tension between Argentina and England now as there was 40 years ago, but it is unlikely that the degree of confrontation will drop significantly because of this. There is no doubt that a great battle awaits us, which will be remembered for years.

Both teams have already experienced moments at this World Cup, after which less experienced teams usually finish the tournament. Argentina almost got knocked out by Egypt, and then received serious resistance from Switzerland and, as in the case of Cape Verde, put the squeeze on the opponent only in extra time.

England pulled off an incredibly nervous game against Mexico, and then in the quarterfinals they made their fans nervous again in the match against Norway. Undoubtedly, both of these national teams are still not playing perfectly, but who cares if there is a result? And most importantly, character.

Argentina remains the most emotional team of the tournament. She can have frankly dreary stretches and play below her capabilities, but in every match, Albiceleste has the drive and nerve to watch their performances from the first to the last minute.

The same can be said about England, except that it is more academic. Thomas Tuchel tried from day one to make this national team less dependent on the inspiration of the stars, adding aggression without the ball and organization in pressure, but the quarterfinals against Norway again showed that the perfect balance is still far away. After the victory, Tuchel himself admitted: yes, the goal was achieved, but he did not see the expected quality of football.

And in this sense, Argentina and England are also similar to each other — even more than it seems at first glance. Both depend on their leaders. It's good that the Three Lions have a new trump card in Bellingham, who is ready to take over the game when there are several opponents hanging on Kane. Even at 39, Messi is able to destroy any defensive formation with one non-standard move.

An important factor in this confrontation will be playing without the ball. Argentina traditionally works very compactly after losses and rarely allows the opponent to launch quick attacks through the center. England, on the other hand, likes just such scenarios when Bellingham constantly connects with the second tempo, and Kane sinks deeper, pulling the central defenders behind him and freeing up space for the jerks of his partners. If Argentina allows the British to play such combinations, Emiliano Martinez will not save it.

Perhaps it is the ability to control chaos and turn it into magic at the expense of an individual class that will decide who goes to the finals. Argentina likes it when a match gets emotional, ragged and rich in martial arts. Tuchel's England, on the contrary, strives to make football as rational and predictable as possible. The winner is the one who can impose his rhythm on the opponent. Especially when something doesn't go according to plan.