Spain have made it to the World Cup 2026 semi-final and, if you were hoping for a clue about their mindset heading into Tuesday's clash with France, Unai Simon just gave you one: he'd rather not leave it to a shootout. That's not nerves talking — that's a goalkeeper who believes his team can do it on the pitch.
Simon was direct in the build-up, according to Foot Mercato — the Spain stopper made clear he wants the tie settled within 90 or 120 minutes, not handed over to the lottery of penalties. For a goalkeeper, that's a telling statement. Keepers are usually the ones who relish a shootout, the sudden reversal of pressure, the moment the whole stadium holds its breath and looks at them. Simon, apparently, would rather not get there.
Read into that what you will — but the most obvious reading is confidence. A team that expects to control a match doesn't spend the week before it planning for extra time.
If Simon set the tone, Jules Koundé filled in the detail. Speaking in the mixed zone ahead of the semi-final, the right-back pointed to what he sees as Spain's defining collective quality — the kind of remark that, from a player of his composure, lands with more weight than a pre-match press conference shout, according to Foot Mercato.
Koundé has been one of the tournament's standout defenders, and he knows this Spain squad well enough to speak about it without hyperbole. The message, stripped back: they trust each other, they trust the system, and they believe that's enough to beat France.
This fixture has form. These two have met at major tournaments before and the margins have always been fine. A World Cup semi-final raises the stakes to a level where even the pre-match press conferences feel loaded — and Spain's camp, at least, is projecting exactly the kind of calm assurance that makes opponents uncomfortable.
Spain arrive in the last four as a side built on structure and collective movement under their coaching setup. France bring individual brilliance that can unlock any defence on any given night. Something has to give on Tuesday — and Spain, for one, have already decided they'd rather it happens in open play.
Simon didn't say he was afraid of penalties. He said he doesn't want them. There's a difference — and France might want to notice it.
Spain have made it to the World Cup 2026 semi-final and, if you were hoping for a clue about their mindset heading into Tuesday's clash with France, Unai Simon just gave you one: he'd rather not leave it to a shootout.
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“Stays on World Cup — different angle, same beat.”
INTFrance vs Spain at a World Cup semi-final would already be enough. Add Bastille Day. Add Emmanuel Macron personally confirming a tribute to the victims of the 2016 Nice terrorist attack — ten years on
“Stays on World Cup — different angle, same beat.”
INTFrance vs Spain at a World Cup semi-final would already be enough. Add Bastille Day. Add Emmanuel Macron personally confirming a tribute to the victims of the 2016 Nice terrorist attack — ten years on
