2026 World Cup semifinals: Who has the edge in France-Spain, England-Argentina?

Welcome once again into the sports seriously soccer podcast We are on the road as you can see John Arnold in the Dallas Media Center ahead of France versus Spain set for tell me looks like on his way to Atlanta Stadium to cover Argentina versus England and Lori Lindsey just kind of chilling at home, but you know She's actually the busiest of all three of us deceivingly Guys the semifinals are here Lori. We kind of thought they would look like this Maybe we had an upset pick or a dark horse, but in the end What do you make of the four semifinalists being the teams that a lot of us predicted to get here in the first place Yeah, I mean, I think it's exciting right? I mean, obviously I personally enjoy having an underdog a Team that makes its way through that you don't expect and see that storylines But I think with the expanded field We've seen that in some regard like Cape Verde and how they end up doing in the tournament you Early Holland and Norway before losing to the England in the quarterfinals So we've certainly gotten taste of some of those underdog or dark horse that runs But I'm thrilled about these matchups, I mean really you couldn't ask for four better teams and You know the first one to kick us off France versus Spain my goodness. I mean, where do you even begin? So I'm thrilled I'm excited and I know we're doing predictions and stuff, but I'm like gonna spray I don't even know how you predict these things cuz I'm just I Expect like great matchups and just fun to be a fan of I mean you get down to these last four And I really do feel like set any fourth and win I mean they bought one before it wouldn't be a huge shock to see any of these teams with the trophy and again They were kind of teams that we were thinking about before the tournament is the team to win I wonder where you see the impetus where you see the pressure was anyone playing with house money Is there a team that you feel like would would be in scandal a huge failure? Who has the most to play for in this final four? Knowing that they're two games away from lifting that trophy Yeah, I mean, I think if you look at which team has the most pressure. I would say England just because this generation Has come so close to winning trophies over the last eight nine years and just has fallen Heartbreakingly short every time you know they've lost back-to-back Euro finals Of course, they made the semis of the World Cup in 2018 And then you know some of these guys have been there all along or at least We're part of those Euro squads and of course England has a World Cup drought going back 60 years now They've had an incredible tournament, and you know I feel like if they don't win They're gonna go out to another powerhouse team, and it's not gonna be a huge Letdown or disappointment because of how well they've played and because they're gonna go out to another powerhouse team But when you look at the other three teams obviously France's has been there. They've won recently Argentina won the last one Spain has a little bit more of a drought, but also they won the Euros two years ago So when you look at which teams need a trophy more than others You'd have to put England at the top of that list. I totally agree. It's funny like having Having covered Argentina for this tournament They had this phrase in Argentine Spanish about the backpack which they just felt loaded down with pressure It was all on their shoulders, and they said like messy specifically, but the whole team was carrying a backpack and this entire tournament They've been like backpacks off, so I guess they're like tote bag guys like me Or you know like they don't even maybe they've got like a plastic bag to carry stuff And there's just no pressure on this team even though like there is an expectation. I think they're the least Necessary to win because even if they go out against England in almost even embarrassing fashion Messi's legacy is secure Stallone's legacy is secure all that generation's legacy is secure And then you get this new generation of guys like Nico Paz Simeone and these young players Let's talk a little bit about England excuse me Spain and France before we talk about England Argentina I'm here about to hear from Luis de la Fuente from the millennium all from Didier Deschamps, so It's just an interesting game obviously because of the history with the Euros But also I think because of this idea that it's an anticipated final It's the final before the final Laurie. Where do you see this match? Maybe ranking I guess between only two games But but the fact that this does seem like it could be the type of game that we see in a final maybe a bit KG at the start maybe opening up a bit more and and where do you see the strengths and weaknesses of these two great teams? Yeah I mean as I said, I'm thrilled about both of these and in some ways I was maybe hoping this would be the final but obviously that can't be But I think what's interesting and we've heard this and you can just tell by the way that these two teams play as well it's contrasting styles like I do think we expect Spain to have a good amount of the possession like they typically do but I think the biggest thing is how do each of these teams defend one another because we know in terms of The talk with France how much attack they have right? I mean the the best attack you could say in this World Cup and just the the amount of impact players, but I think the biggest thing is going to be one how does France defend the attack or excuse me? How does Spain defend the attack of France? Because I think the last thing they're gonna want to do is get and get into a foot race with those France attackers So obviously if they do have the majority possession where you're losing the ball is gonna be essential if you do lose the ball is it Rodri is the Zuba Mindy who are who's fouling to make sure that those attacks don't Come to fruition for for France But then also what is the shape behind the ball because I think those are the areas that France is going to be looking to Exploit that space in behind those kind of two deep-lying midfielders for for Spain And in front of their back line But then also vice versa because one thing that I've enjoyed about this France team is how they've gone about their business I mean the Paraguay game for me is a good example. They knew that this team was probably gonna sit back be really Compact defensively, but also there was some chippiness to the game right and France stepped up they matched that they did like They just took it and we're like here we go And I think the thing is though with some of these teams not that they've been predictable by any means But they have been more predictable than a Spain team. So I think how France defends Spain because they're gonna be very They're gonna be committed to finding those little spaces the combinations the the ability to try to find the little gaps in between France's Lines to exploit so I think those two things on how each team is going to defend because they're gonna attack They're gonna go after So I'll be curious about how both these teams line up defensively I'm definitely interested to see Laminia mall who seems to be kind of growing into the tournament as it's health and his His hamstring and is you know Just overall getting used to the rhythm of what the World Cup looks like obviously already want to make your tournament with the euro 19th birthday today as we speak But a guy who can take advantage of I think the weak link in the France team if there is one in indian Yeah, I'm the left back spot where he hadn't really won that job and tell like the knockout stage of this tournament So you think hey, maybe there's an opportunity there. Let's ship toward Atlanta You're gonna be on site for England versus Argentina we've seen Argentina look weak I wrote after the Argentina game against Switzerland they keep playing with fire, but no one has made them get burned They just keep sort of pulling things out Whether you think it's the referee whether you think it's messy or you think it's some combination of all these different factors Argentina's here. They're in a big emotional game Messi's first meeting ever against England somehow He's sort of like that generation skipped the games against England somehow and now you have this game where it's conditioned by not only Factors on the field but off with the Falkland conflict still very relevant the Malvinas as they're known in Argentina in the Argentine Cultural mindset a lot of the soccer songs talked about that Of course the 1986 meeting with Diego Maradona scoring one illegitimate goal one extremely legitimate goal Meetings in 1998 where David Beckham gets sent off 2002 a bit boring Beckham scores a penalty, but like this is a series with tons of history Messi hasn't been a part of it How do you think that plays and how do you see this matchup? Going on and developing. Yeah, you know, we we said last podcast that Argentina just keeps getting away with it. And at some point they're gonna not be able to get away with it, but it happened again against Switzerland, you know this this team has Suffered in all three knockout games against teams that on paper they were superior to Especially you look at Cape Verde or Egypt, you know Switzerland maybe a little bit better but you know there have been points in all of these games where it's looked like Argentina was on the ropes and you know, they Again after they they took that early lead against Switzerland Really grow into the game and in the second half and by the time Switzerland equalized it looked like it was coming and then Switzerland pushed on and Argentina just you know, they got incredibly lucky because Brill and Bolo made a very bad decision to Completely flop to the ground when already on a yellow card and you can complain about the process that was followed there But you know he dove went on a yellow card I think that is a kind of indisputable there and then, you know, even from there Argentina, you know wasn't great But I think again what you see with Argentina And you saw this in the previous two knockout games is they still have this unbelievable individual quality That can make the difference in these games You saw it against Egypt with the messy goal and then with the late winner from Enzo Fernandez And then you saw it again against Switzerland with the unbelievable goal by Julian Alvarez in a game where messy actually doesn't score a goal You know, they've been very dependent on messy in this tournament but of course they have top caliber players across the field and It'll be very interesting to see how they match up with England because this is obviously by far the best team that they've Played at this tournament. This is a battle tested team And you know If you had to do like a power rankings of the four teams remaining you would probably put Argentina at the bottom Which is kind of crazy, but the way they performed at this World Cup Hasn't been very inspiring especially in the knockout phase and yet this is a team full of winners I think I saw that they haven't lost a knockout game in any competition since 2019 so it's counting Copa America and then World Cup so this group knows how to win and they have incredible quality and yet Probably like I said, they're at this point the least likely of the four to win this whole tournament All right. Well, I'm gonna put you on the spot. We're gonna go into our predictions What's your years for England Argentina? It certainly sounds like you're backing the three Lions Do you think there's some messy magic left in the tank or is it England going through? I See England going through here I mean in addition to just the way that Argentina has been playing which is not great They've also got 120 minutes in two of their three knockout games They're also a team that relies on a number of players that are in their 30s So it feels like that's gonna catch up them. Of course, England has been you know pushed to the max as well They went 120 in their last game in oppressive conditions in Miami. So it's not like they're coming in super fresh, but They're a little younger. They They've performed definitely better throughout this tournament and it just seems like you know with Cain and Bellingham They have two superstar players that are playing at an extremely high level and you see like if one of them Doesn't come through the other one does and so I would expect that to continue I've got Argentina winning 2-1. I mean they're gonna need extra time I think I think Leandro Paredes will be able to kind of neutralize Bellingham which sounds insane Especially because we didn't know if Paredes would play in this World Cup because of an injury coming into the tournament But when he's played, he's been fantastic. He's been difficult to beat in the middle I do think England will get one But I think Argentina pushed it to extra time again and finds that winner Laurie break the tie for us who you got in this semifinal I see I was gonna say 2-1 England and I actually I love your points both of them, but I also I was gonna say Bellingham is actually gonna be the difference because of some of the late runs he comes because I think that is an area that has been a little bit of an issue for For Argentina defensively is when they they can deal with the first runners But it's like kind of that second phase and that's where Bellingham sometimes he's operating in coming underneath. So Yeah Goodness, this is why I hate predictions. I don't even freaking know But it sounds like we're definitely saying that matchup to watch maybe Versus Bellingham because since yeah, but I just came into the starting lineup I think that's been both up Although there's still love as you're saying on some of the second runs and definitely in transition sometimes when the counterpress should be there It's just not and then teams are just able to get forward. That's what Switzerland was really enjoying So that's something that that Argentina is gonna have to sew up against England Let's close things out by picking the game that I'm gonna be watching right here I'm not gonna curb street you because I'm here and say no I can't predict this game like he doesn't call it game day I'm gonna give you a prediction. I guess I'll start us off I think that Spain will actually come out of this one as the winner I think that when you look at the attack, I think they're gonna be able to I Think they have one or two in him and I think it's a I think it's a little medium all breakout I really I really think that it might just be his kind of coronation as the next great player You know and maybe sets up a reenactment of the moment where Messi and him are, you know in that advertisement We'll see if they do that again if they both make the final that's what I guess I'm predicting Did you have two to one because I have Okay, so I have to do what I like these then because this is I have two to one France I just feel like they're all business I've liked the way that they've gone about this tournament and They've been only given up two goals and two to two goals in this tournament and obviously Spain only won But I do feel like those transitional moments Potentially in the wide areas obviously and just with the attack that they have I mean even if you you feel like you've got somebody under Control here comes another wave of two or three attackers. So a two-to-one to France for me Alright, Seth, we're split again. Who you got? I'm going with Laurie again It just seems very difficult to see France losing right now just because they have such a variety of options to hurt you and attack Because they have won games in so many different ways, you know, they had to suffer a bit against Paraguay against Morocco like that was extremely ominous for the rest of the field because they played a very good Morocco team and Basically didn't get out of second gear the entire time. It was just cruise control obviously Spain is a is a different caliber of team and Spain is gonna have a little bit more of the ball than Previous teams that Francis played but they might like it that way because they're just so dangerous in transition and You know, it's just hard to see any team keeping them off the board right now I think it's hard to see in general either of these games not being great And I think the fact that we're all picking like one goal margin Maybe two at most sort of indicates that it's just really difficult as it should be at the World Cup semifinals, right? These are the four best teams for the last cycle basically the four best teams in the world These are the four best teams at this World Cup and I think it's gonna be a lot of fun watching the semifinals we'll be back to break down those games to look ahead to that third place game and To the final here on the sports seriously soccer podcast. Take care subscribe and we'll talk to you guys