Spain's possession fetish: Their only prayer against France?

For the first time since 1994, the World Cup's final four all sit in FIFA's top four rankings. A serious semi-final lineup. France against Spain in Dallas on Tuesday. Both have lifted continental trophies.

France. The clear favorites. Look at the numbers: second-highest goal tally, most shots on target, top expected-goals. Mbappé? Yeah, he's leading the Golden Boot. But don't forget Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, and Desire Doue. That's a serious attacking crew. Only Norway has managed to shut Mbappé down. So far.

Spain? Different story. They hoard the ball. Tournament-leading possession. Figures nobody else touches. This isn't just for show, they'll tell you. Over a thousand passes in the attacking third. 83.9 percent accurate. It's "defence by proxy," they say. Keep the ball, keep it away from your own goal. Ruthless. Boring, some might argue.

So Spain's plan: suffocate. Control. Starve France of the ball. Shrink Mbappé's world. Then, maybe, if the stars align, hit them with some "carefully orchestrated moments." Good luck with that.

But let's be real. Cracks are showing. Lamine Yamal? Quiet. Nico Williams? Injured, barely a factor. Spain's "creative spark" has been less a spark, more a damp match. Needed Mikel Merino off the bench just to scrape past Portugal and Belgium. Oyarzabal's four goals? All against cannon fodder. Let's not get carried away.

France has talent for days. It's not just Mbappé. They've got multiple goal-scorers already. Only Brazil in 2002 pulled that off in a single World Cup. Says something, doesn't it?

A foregone conclusion? Probably not. But Spain needs to play perfectly. And even then, it might not be enough.